


Winter's Touch

by yikeslikenikes



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Deities, Falling In Love, Fantasy, Fluff and Angst, Hyungwon Fest, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Seasonal Powers, Strangers to Lovers, Witches, magical beings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-02-25 06:27:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 40,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22091527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yikeslikenikes/pseuds/yikeslikenikes
Summary: His season is one of fluttering and blooming love and romantic gestures and new feelings, so he enjoys seeing others in love.It twinges a bit that he's never experienced it, but that doesn't ruin it for him. It never made him bitter.
Relationships: Chae Hyungwon/Yoo Kihyun, Im Changkyun | I.M/Lee Minhyuk, Lee Hoseok | Wonho/Lee Jooheon/Son Hyunwoo | Shownu
Comments: 22
Kudos: 69
Collections: hyungwon fest





	1. Spring

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt:  
> FIC-06

When spring comes, Hyungwon feels it in his body. Feels the power of his season flow through his veins and breathe a new kind of life into him. He smiles as he hops out of bed and gets dressed quickly, wanting to greet the first day of spring the way he always has. 

His home is simple and lovely, a tiny cottage surrounded by flowers that he adores and that adore him back. He walks out into his garden and turns around to greet them.

“Happy first day of spring,” he says happily. He cracks his knuckles before he waves over the flowers, making them grow bigger and more beautiful under his spell. He smiles at how large they get. The ease with which his magic flows through him. 

“Nice work.”

Hyungwon turns to find Jooheon smiling at him from his gate, yellow hair the color of daffodils bright under the sunlight. 

Hyungwon bows respectfully before walking down to the gate to open it. 

“A good compliment to get from the God of Spring himself,” Hyungwon says. 

Jooheon laughs a bit and walks into Hyungwon's garden. All the flowers turn toward him like he’s the sun itself. 

“I'm still not used to that,” Jooheon says sheepishly before he walks through the gardens. Hyungwon smiles as he follows after him. 

“Are you ready for the spring festival?” Hyungwon asks. 

“Yes. Are you?” Jooheon asks. 

Hyungwon smiles. “I always am.”

“Right,” Jooheon says as he looks over the flowers carefully. 

Hyungwon twiddles his thumbs as he waits for Jooheon’s word. Before Jooheon had to take up this position, the old Spring God would talk through his selections to Hyungwon, but Jooheon never did. Jooheon was friendlier over all, but the way he overlooked Hyungwon’s flowers always managed to make him nervous. 

“These for my crown,” Jooheon says, pointing out the pink roses-of-sharon. 

Hyungwon lets out a sigh of relief as he reaches out and gently plucks one of its petals before handing it to Jooheon. 

In a flash, the petal has become a crown made up entirely of the flowers. 

“They did bloom beautifully,” Hyungwon comments as Jooheon carefully puts it on.

“I still feel like I haven't gotten the hang of this whole spring thing,” Jooheon says. 

“Don't say that. You’re great at it,” Hyungwon says. 

“Probably because you helped me. Now come on, we have a lot to do today,” Jooheon says. 

Hyungwon smiles, glad to be working at full capacity again. He and Jooheon set off together toward the city square, everyone they passed stopping to bow at them. 

“So, I will take care of everything, I just need you to check and make sure spring has properly sprung,” Jooheon says. 

“Of course. Just like last year,” Hyungwon says.

“And the year before that, and the year before that,” Jooheon says.

Hyungwon chuckles. “I’ll help with the decorations for the festival.”

“Good. I'll see you in a little bit,” Jooheon says. 

“See you!”

Jooheon walks off toward the main temple, and Hyungwon sighs as he looks around. There weren't any icicles left from the winter on the buildings, but none of them looked like spring had touched them. Hyungwon cracked his knuckles again and started muttering under his breath as he looked around. Slowly, everything changed. Everything got greener and brighter. Flowers and ivy started crawling up the sides of buildings, full and glowing. The few people that had already gathered were ooh-ing and ahh-ing as he worked, and it made Hyungwon feel proud. 

He stops for a moment to look around. 

“Maybe a banner or something.”

Hyungwon turns to see Minhyuk smiling at him. He smiles back. 

“Aren't you usually sulking right about now?” Hyungwon asks. 

“I had to come and make sure you gave this place some flair. Now a banner and maybe some garlands would be nice,” Minhyuk says. 

Hyungwon sighs and looks up. He flicks his wrists and a banner appears over the entrance to the square made up of all different kinds of flowers to show off that spring has come. 

“See? Much better,” Minhyuk says. 

“How are you feeling?” Hyungwon asks. 

Minhyuk shrugs and grins. “Like I do most of the year. Just because my season ended doesn't mean I'm going to pout about it.”

“I mean, I pout about it, so I would understand,” Hyungwon says. 

“You sure do. I think this is the first time I've seen you out of the house since halfway through fall?”

Hyungwon shrugs. “I don't  _ mind _ the cold, but I'd prefer to avoid it.”

“And I'll never understand that, but I still love you despite your character flaws,” Minhyuk says. 

Hyungwon snorts and shoves at Minhyuk’s shoulder. 

“Is everyone else coming?”

“I assume the usual bunch will,” Minhyuk says. 

“Ah. So our lovely God of winter is going to stay in and mope like he has every year?” Hyungwon says. 

Minhyuk sighs and scratches at the back of his head. “I tried to convince him to come, but you know how he is.”

“Actually, I don't. You're the only witch he even talks to. From what Jooheon and Hyunwoo tell me, he rarely even talks to them,” Hyungwon says.

“Hyungwon,” Minhyuk says. 

“No, I know. I know. I don't mean it in a mean way. It's just strange to me to have never even met him. Millennia have passed, and I don't even know what he looks like,” Hyungwon says. 

“Maybe if you left your cottage in the winter, you might,” Minhyuk tries.

“Please. I know for a fact Changkyun runs around with you in the winter, and he even said he never met him.”

Minhyuk sighs again and shrugs. “Maybe one day I'll convince him.”

“Hopefully. Speaking of, where did you leave Changkyun?” Hyungwon asks. 

Minhyuk brightens at the question about his love. 

“Oh, he's around. Probably at the bakery,” he answers. 

“I haven't had breakfast yet,” Hyungwon admits. 

“Ah, well let's go there then. Your treat since it's your season.”

“Excuse me, did you treat me when the winter festival happened?” Hyungwon asks. 

Minhyuk laughs. “My treat this time then.”

“That's what I thought.”

Hyungwon and Minhyuk make their way over to the bakery and find Changkyun pretty quickly as he stares at the menu. 

“Having a hard time choosing?” Minhyuk asks as he walks up to him. Changkyun hums and nods. 

“Everything sounds good,” Changkyun says. 

“You’re right, it does,” Hyungwon says as he glances over the menu. 

“Happy first day of spring,” Changkyun says. 

“Thank you,” Hyungwon says. 

“Is Jooheon freaking out?”

“He's keeping it together,” Hyungwon says. 

Changkyun sighs. “Things were easier when he only had to focus on autumn.”

“True, but then what would happen to spring if he hadn't stepped up?” Minhyuk says. 

Hyungwon presses his lips together as he stares up at the menu. He’ll never forget watching the old God of spring fall in love with a human all those decades ago. How painful it was for him. Hyungwon had been surprised when Hakyeon had come into his cottage one day and declared that he couldn't do it anymore. That he was going to give it all up. His immortality, his power, everything to be with his love. 

And Hyungwon had understood, of course, but he was terrified until Hakyeon said he'd find a replacement before going. 

Honestly, Hyungwon had been relieved when Jooheon volunteered. 

“What do you want?” Minhyuk asks, bringing Hyungwon back to reality. 

“Oh. A few of those buns look good,” Hyungwon says.

“Got it. Anything else?” Minhyuk asks. 

Hyungwon shakes his head, and Minhyuk goes ahead to order for them. Changkyun hovers near him, hand on the small of Minhyuk's back as he waits. 

Something pricks at the back of Hyungwon's head, and he turns around to find Jooheon looking around for him in the middle of the square.

“I'll be right back,” Hyungwon calls before he goes out toward Jooheon. 

“There you are,” Jooheon says.

“Here I am.”

“I like what you did with the place,” Jooheon says with another glance around. 

Hyungwon smiles. “Good. It's ready for you whenever you’re ready.”

As Jooheon grins back at him, Hyungwon feels electricity in the air. He takes a step back, giving Jooheon some room. 

He may have been powerful, the magic of spring coursing through his veins, but that was nothing compared to a God’s sheer power. Having something pumping through your body and actually being the embodiment of it are two different things, after all. 

Jooheon always had a slight flair for the dramatic, so he turns around, arms stretched up above his head as a small crowd gathers around the edges of the square, no one daring to get any closer.

“And now I declare Spring and the Spring Festival begun,” Jooheon says, and his sweet voice booms out and echoes a bit in the space. 

Hyungwon takes another step back, eyes up on all the flowers he placed around the square, watching them tremble a bit at a new life being breathed into them. The light of the sun even feels brighter and warmer. 

And, of course, Hyungwon feels it. The full capacity of his powers surging through him, down to his fingertips. He laughs a bit, not able to contain himself.

This kind of power only comes for a few months, and Hyungwon plans on making the best of it like he always has. 

When Jooheon finally puts his arms down, the crowd breaks through, cheering and applauding and gathering around him and Hyungwon to wish them a happy Spring. 

Hyungwon conjures a few flowers from the ground to braid into a few children’s hair, and Jooheon blows on them to make them frozen in time, always bloomed and never wilting. 

Jooheon was never a stingy God. His blessings were many and came frequently to any who would ask. It was why the earth was so peaceful. Whether it was spring or autumn, there was always a plentiful harvest. 

“Give me a flower to give to Minhyuk,” Changkyun asks as he finally makes his way to Hyungwon. 

“Don't you have your own gifts to give him?” Hyungwon asks with a grin. He’s already thinking up something grand but simple for Minhyuk. Probably red or pink to symbolize Changkyun’s feelings for him. 

“Not as great as yours would be right now,” Changkyun says. 

Hyungwon hums and squats down. He needs earth to make his creations, unlike Jooheon. He can make something appear from thin air, but Hyungwon always needs a starting point. Even his banners around the town were anchored by roots to the ground until Jooheon came to bless them. 

He hums softly and thinks of Changkyun and Minhyuk together before bringing his hand up, pulling a new flower out of the ground. He apologizes before he plucks it up and hands it to Changkyun. He's smiling as he takes it. 

“Never seen this one before,” Changkyun says. 

“Of course. No two flowers are the same.”

“Ah, is that for Minhyuk?” Jooheon asks as he walks over.

“Yep!” Changkyun says, holding it out for Jooheon to see. Jooheon smiles and blows over the petals, making them glow for a moment before they still. 

“There. Now go give it to him,” Jooheon says. 

Changkyun grins. “Thanks, Honey.”

He walks back to where Minhyuk is waiting for him, and Hyungwon watches as Minhyuk’s face goes all soft when Changkyun holds the flower out to him. He keeps watching as Minhyuk pulls Changkyun closer and kisses him softly before taking the flower from him. 

Hyungwon smiles at them, giving them a moment before he heads over there to demand his breakfast. 

He greets a few more people, but he lets Jooheon take charge of that as he makes his way out of the crowd. 

“Here’s your food,” Minhyuk says, holding out a bundle of buns toward him. 

“Thank you,” Hyungwon says as he takes it and sits down on one of the chairs outside the bakery. He eats quietly, looking around the square to see if he can add anything to it.

“If you add more, it'll be too much,” Changkyun says. 

Hyungwon looks at him and decides he's probably right. 

“Thank you for the advice, oh wise witch of autumn,” Hyungwon says. 

Changkyun snorts and rolls his eyes. “Or don't listen to me. It's your season. Do whatever your flowery little heart desires.”

“I think your season is more understated, sweetheart,” Minhyuk says. 

“Oh, yes. I forget that for your season you just cover absolutely everything in snow and frost,” Changkyun says. 

Hyungwon laughs a bit as he watches them bicker. It's always interesting because they smile the whole time, hold each other the whole time, but bicker and bicker and bicker. 

Hyungwon is happy for them, honestly. He loves seeing his friends so happy. 

His season is one of fluttering and blooming love and romantic gestures and new feelings, so he enjoys seeing others in love. 

It twinges a bit that he's never experienced it, but that doesn't ruin it for him. It never made him bitter. 

“I think I'm going to get going. There's a lot I could be doing, and I don't think I'm very needed around here right now,” Hyungwon says. 

“Alright. We’ll come by later to check on you,” Changkyun says. 

“And I'm sure Hoseok and Hyunwoo would like to see you at some point,” Minhyuk says.

“That's fine. Just knock. See you soon!” 

“See you!”

Hyungwon leaves the square slowly, taking in his work one last time. He smiles to himself, still proud.

He walks down the path out of the town and toward his cottage, encouraging the grass to turn greener and the flowers to bloom bigger as he goes. 

He’s about to turn right at a fork in the road when he notices the barren ground surrounding the path to the left. He frowns at it, wondering how he'd never noticed it. He moves closer and waves over the ground and shudders. 

It feels scorched and dead. Ruined. Hyungwon kneels down and touches it, wondering what could have happened there. He would have noticed a fire, so that wasn't it. 

Taking a deep breath, he flexes the full extent of his magic to heal it, make it fertile and full of some grass. 

It would have been impossible a few days ago, but spring has sprung. There was no weakness in his powers now. 

He stands up and looks around, noticing the entire path is dead. 

Hyungwon straightens his clothes and gets to work bringing some life back into the earth, wandering further and further down the path. 

He wonders why spring hadn't touched this part of their home until he finds himself shivering a bit and looks up. 

Hyungwon had never seen the winter palace, but he knew instantly that's where he was. 

The palace in front of him was made almost entirely of blue ice, and spiraled high into the sky. It was intricate and elaborate, and so intimidating that it makes Hyungwon's breath catch in his throat. 

It still looks like winter here. Cold and dead and silent.

Hyungwon frowns, feeling slighted. 

Maybe it’s because he’s used to the summer palace being adorned by spring and fall when they come. Maybe it's because winter touches everything. Maybe it's because somewhere inside of him, Hyungwon doesn't think it's fair that their winter God hides away from them like he is too good for them when the rest of them are all so friendly with each other. 

He takes a deep breath and pulls his clothes tighter around himself before walking up to the palace gates. He's surprised, but happy when he finds them unlocked. He walks past what should be gardens but is just frosted over grounds instead, frowning at it, wishing he could fix it. 

The doors to the palace are unlocked as well, and Hyungwon walks in as if he was invited. 

It’s even quieter inside the frozen halls. Even colder as well. His breath comes out visible and thick as he walks further in, eyes taking in the beauty of the sun refracting through the ice. 

“Minhyuk, I already told you, I'm not...oh.”

Hyungwon blinks and turns around to face the grand staircase, toward the voice he heard.

Standing there is who Hyungwon can only assume is Kihyun, God of Winter. 

“You’re...not Minhyuk,” he says softly. 

Hyungwon remembers to be polite and bows. 

“No, I’m sorry. Were you expecting him?” Hyungwon asks. 

He hasn't looked up again, still bowing low. It's quiet, but then he sees shoes appear in his line of vision. 

“You don't have to bow for so long,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon clears his throat and straightens, fixing his clothes before he looks up. 

His breath catches again, but not because of intimidation. 

Kihyun, like all the gods, is beautiful. His black hair is slicked back out of his face to show a fine forehead and dark brown eyes that don't betray any of his emotions. His features are sharp sharp sharp, his nose, his jaw, his brow, but his cheeks are soft and round. His skin is smooth like packed snow, but he's not that pale, not that white, but not very tan either. His lips are a familiar pink though, a pink of petals that Hyungwon always tries to get just right because he can see it in his mind but never had a real reference until now. He's shorter than Hyungwon would have imagined, his head sloped downwards a bit to look at him, but that doesn't make his presence any less imposing, any less powerful, as he stands there, back fully straight and chin high. 

“I’m sorry for intruding,” Hyungwon says softly, realizing that he had just wandered into a practical stranger's home uninvited. 

“Don't be. You’re Hyungwon, right? Witch of Spring,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon bows his head again. 

“I am. And you are--”

“Kihyun, though I assume you know that.” 

Hyungwon raises a brow, and Kihyun licks his lips, his eyes flicking away. Hyungwon keeps staring at him like he's never seen a god before, and he wishes he could pry his eyes away from Kihyun's face, but he can't make himself look away. 

“What brings you here? Is something wrong?” Kihyun asks. 

His voice isn't cold like Hyungwon had imagined. It’s melodic and floats through the air like birdsong. It also isn't unkind. He seems concerned at Hyungwon’s sudden appearance, head tilting to the side. 

And suddenly, Hyungwon realizes he has no reason to be there. No reason to see him at all. 

“I...I came to personally invite you to the Spring Festival,” Hyungwon says softly. 

Kihyun blinks a bit before looking down. 

“Oh. I'm sorry if you've felt offended at my absence,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon has to bite his tongue to stop himself from saying that a part of him has been very offended. 

“It’s alright. I just wanted you to know that you are welcome to come. I'm sure Minhyuk would be delighted to see you there,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun looks up at him and gives him a small smile. Something stirs and blooms, tiny petals unfurling in Hyungwon's chest. 

“I appreciate the offer. Truly, I do, but I think I must decline,” Kihyun says. 

Something takes root in Hyungwon's chest as Kihyun bows his head a bit and steps back, ready to turn away. 

“Why?” He says before he can stop himself. 

Kihyun blinks and stares at him. “What?”

It’s too late now. Hyungwon made a decision, and he wasn't going to go back on it now. 

“Aren't you lonely locked up in here for most of the year? Don't you want to see the world go through the seasons? Why don't you come?”

Kihyun licks his lips again, and Hyungwon wonders if he's angry. He wonders if he could send a blizzard to scorch his first day of spring because of his emotions. 

But Kihyun doesn't seem angry. 

“That is quite a lot of questions,” Kihyun says carefully. 

“I’m sorry, but I've always wondered. Minhyuk speaks so highly of you, but I've never even met you before.”

“Winter...has always been a bit lonely, hasn't it?” Kihyun asks. He's smiling, but it seems sad. It makes Hyungwon clamp his mouth shut. 

Kihyun watches him for a moment before clearing his throat and continuing. “I adore the other seasons. I watch them all from afar because I love them so,” Kihyun says. 

“Why? You could come to at least the festival,” Hyungwon tries. His mouth is dry, and he doesn't know why he wants Kihyun to come so badly when he just left, but he does. 

Kihyun laughs a bit, and it tinkles in the air. 

“I don't think people would want me there,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon’s heart breaks a bit at how sure he sounds of that. As if it’s the truth.

“Well, I want you there, and it’s partially my festival,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun just stares at him for a moment. 

“Why? Why now?”

“Well, I've always wanted to meet you, but I was too much of a coward before now. It doesn't have to be today. You can come tomorrow,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun shifts a bit on his feet and looks him up and down for a moment. 

“You mean it?” He asks softly, and Hyungwon knows hope when he hears it. 

“I do! Here,” Hyungwon says. He reaches down to a little pouch of Earth he keeps on his belt. He conjures up a pink tulip and holds it out to Kihyun. 

“Consider this your official invitation,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun’s eyes light up as he looks at the flower, and he smiles. 

“Thank you,” Kihyun says softly. He reaches out and takes the flower, but as soon as it enters his grip, it freezes, frost covering the petals and stem and leaves. 

Kihyun's smile falls, and he cradles the frozen flower in his hands. He's staring down, away from Hyungwon.

“I...I’m sorry,” Kihyun says softly. 

Hyungwon frowns and shakes his head.

“Don't be. It’s still beautiful like that, and now it'll never fade,” Hyungwon says.

Kihyun looks up at him, surprised. 

“You’re not upset?” 

Hyungwon smiles at him and shakes his head. “Of course not. It's not your fault.”

Hyungwon doesn't miss how Kihyun holds the flower to his chest like something precious, and how when he smiles like he means it, it changes his whole face. Cheeks becoming even rounder and lips splitting wide and eyes disappearing into crescents. 

The thing that had rooted and bloomed in Hyungwon's chest grew larger. 

“I guess I'll have to come then with such a lovely invitation,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon smiles. “Good. I'll be seeing you soon.”

“Tomorrow,” Kihyun says with a nod. 

“Tomorrow, then. I'll be on my way.” Hyungwon turns around and hurries toward the door, heart beating fast. 

“Happy first day of spring, Hyungwon,” Kihyun calls after him.

Hyungwon spins around at the door and smiles.

“Happy first day of spring. Nice to meet you!”

And then he’s out the palace doors, rushing past the grounds, past the gate, and down the path again. 

He doesn't stop until he's in his own garden, a chill still somewhere in his bones. In his chest. Blooming along with something else. 

Hyungwon bites his lip as he walks back around his cottage to where he keeps his instruments. He walks to the filled birdbath and looks down at it. 

“Will he actually come tomorrow?” He asks. 

The water in it shimmers a bit, and his reflection changes to words. 

_ Yes. _

Hyungwon hums and dips his finger into the water to make the words disappear. He steps away and tries not to feel nervous. 

It's not strange for a God to visit another God’s festival. Sure, Kihyun had never been, but it shouldn't be strange. 

But Hyungwon thinks about how beautiful he was, and how he had held the tulip to his chest, its petals as pink as his lips. 

He wants to ask more questions, but decides against it. Instead, he focuses on adding another row of daffodils to his garden and brewing tea for when his friends come to visit. 

“Why do you look like you're about to be sick?” Hoseok asks as they walk into the city square early the next morning. 

Hyungwon looks at him, holding onto the prettiest daffodil from his garden. 

“Is it that obvious?” Hyungwon asks. 

Hoseok laughs a bit. “I mean, a bit.”

“Great, good. I have no idea why I'm so nervous, honestly.”

“Did Jooheon ask for a flower or something?” Hoseok asks. 

“If he had, I'd give it to you to give to him,” Hyungwon says. 

Hoseok beams at that. “Make believe it's a gift from me?”

“Of course. Or to Hyunwoo. A gift from the two of you means much more than a gift from me,” Hyungwon says. 

“So who is the flower for?” Hoseok asks. 

Hyungwon doesn't answer that. He hurries his steps toward where Jooheon is sitting on the steps to the temple, smiling as he leans against Hyunwoo’s shoulder. 

“Hey, touch this flower,” Hyungwon asks as he walks up. 

“Just touch it?” Jooheon asks as he reaches out and brushes a finger over one of the daffodil’s petals. In response, it grows a bit bigger, fuller and brighter.

“You don't want him to immortalize it?” Hyunwoo asks. Hoseok walks up then, sighing. He plops down on the steps next to Jooheon and is quickly greeted by a kiss on the cheek from Jooheon. 

“Nope, this is just fine,” Hyungwon says as he looks over the flower again. 

“It looks pretty,” Jooheon says. 

“Thank you.”

“He's giving it to someone,” Hoseok says. 

Hyungwon glares at him. The betrayal. 

Jooheon looks at him, already grinning. 

“Oh? Who?” He asks. 

Hyungwon doesn't know why he can't muster up the whole truth. He figures it'll bring up more questions than he's willing to deal with right at that moment. 

“A new friend. Thus, the daffodil,” Hyungwon says. 

“Aren't flowers inherently romantic?” Hyunwoo asks.

Hyungwon frowns. “It's what I do best. I wasn't about to give him sachets of tea.”

“You mean, something you'd give a friend?” Hyunwoo asks. 

Hyungwon huffs and holds his daffodil closer. 

“Can you be careful? I don't want you to burn out my flower,” Hyungwon mumbles, trying to change the subject. 

Jooheon laughs a bit as Hyunwoo frowns. 

“He's just lashing out because you’re right, love,” Jooheon says.

Hyunwoo looks at him and smiles a bit. Hyungwon huffs again and steps away. 

“I’ll leave you three alone, then,” he says. 

“See you later,” Hoseok calls after him. 

Hyungwon walks back toward the center of the square, looking around. There's a few booths of the festival already open, and there's already some musicians playing music in the corner. 

He shouldn't expect him so early, but a part of him is slightly disappointed that Kihyun isn't there already. 

“Hyungwon! What’s with the flower?” Changkyun asks, walking up with Minhyuk. 

Hyungwon sighs. “It's for a friend.”

“A friend? Other than us? You have other friends?” Minhyuk asks. 

“Very funny,” Hyungwon says. 

“Who is it though?” Changkyun asks. 

The crowd gets louder for a moment, and Hyungwon glances up to see them all crowding around someone. 

“I think he's here,” he says, starting to walk over. 

“No way, is that…” Changkyun starts. 

“Kihyun?” Minhyuk says. 

Kihyun glances up at the sound of his name, and then smiles when his eyes land on Hyungwon. 

Hyungwon smiles back as brightly as he can, the people dispersing in his path. 

“You came,” Hyungwon says. 

“Of course. I had an invitation,” Kihyun says, and that's when Hyungwon notices that Kihyun is wearing the frozen tulip pinned to his shirt. It’s a gesture that makes Hyungwon’s heart melt a bit. 

“Well, here. As a thank you for coming,” Hyungwon says, holding the daffodil out to him. 

Kihyun’s eyes light up a bit as he looks at it, his hand slowly taking it from him. He grimaces a bit when it freezes over, but he pins it next to the tulip regardless. 

“Thank you. Your flowers are very beautiful, even if I end up...” 

“Making them immortal,” Hyungwon says. Kihyun gives him a small smile and nods. 

“Right.”

“What on Earth are you doing here?” Minhyuk says as he walks up. 

Kihyun grins at him and shrugs. “I was invited.”

“I have been inviting you for millennia,” Minhyuk deadpans. 

“Well, it isn't really your party, is it?” Kihyun says. Minhyuk rolls his eyes before he grins and slaps Kihyun’s shoulder. 

“You're ridiculous. Now come on, you could probably make the kids snow cones or something,” he says. 

Hyungwon frowns as Kihyun laughs and gets tugged away by Minhyuk, wishing he had thought of that. A way to connect Kihyun to more than just him. 

“How on Earth did you convince him to come?” Changkyun asks. 

Hyungwon glances over at him and sighs. “I asked.”

“Right, and that worked this time because…?”

“Well. I went up to his castle and asked him personally. I think that helped.”

“You found the winter palace?” Changkyun asks with wide eyes. 

Hyungwon looks at him. “Yes? It's a fork in the road. It wasn't that hard--”

“Have you forgotten about his spell? How he cloaks his palace, so even if people see the path, they don't pay attention to it? They just walk on by?”

Hyungwon blinks. “Well, yes, but I'm a witch--”

Changkyun shakes his head, and Hyungwon shut his mouth. 

“The only witch that can see past it is Minhyuk. Which brings me back to my first question. How did you find the palace?”

Hyungwon looks up again to see Kihyun shyly manifesting snowflakes for the children following him around. He’s smiling small, like he's afraid to let himself be fully happy. 

“Maybe he finally wanted to be found,” Hyungwon says. 

Changkyun looks at him strangely before looking back over at Kihyun. 

“Maybe so. I'm glad that out of all of us, it was you,” he says. 

Hyungwon blinks. “Me? Why?”

Changkyun shrugs. “He took  _ your _ invitation, didn't he?”

“He would have taken Jooheon's, I'm sure. It's his party too.”

Changkyun laughs a bit and nods. “Fair point, but I'm sure Jooheon has sent him an invitation every single year.”

Hyungwon shrugs. “Maybe he didn't feel like he was truly invited.”

Jooheon and Hyunwoo and Hoseok walk into the square, and their jaws fall when they see Kihyun. Kihyun waves a bit at them before Jooheon runs over and hugs him hard. Like he's missed him. Like he was truly glad. And when Kihyun laughs hard enough for Hyungwon to hear, it feels like the happy tinkling of sleigh bells in Hyungwon's ears. The sound of joy. 

And Hyungwon decides then that Kihyun just needs a bit of encouragement to be more present. A friend that isn't just his season’s witch. 

Someone like him, even, to show him that even when spring comes, he's still welcome. 

Maybe being around the mysterious and handsome God of Winter would be good for both of them. 

Hyungwon walks up the stairs to the winter palace, a full bouquet of daffodils in his arms. He knocks first, then after a moment, pushes open the doors. 

Kihyun is halfway down the stairs when he walks in. 

“You keep just letting yourself in,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon smiles bashfully. “Sorry. I'm impatient.”

“I can see that. Are those for me?” Kihyun asks as he walks up to him. 

Hyungwon nods and holds the bouquet out to him. 

“They're beautiful, aren't they? I made them especially for you,” he says. 

Kihyun smiles, but he doesn't take them. “I can probably find a vase somewhere for you to put them.”

Hyungwon just holds them out. “Sure.”

Kihyun licks his lips and takes a step back. “Maybe you should put them in the vase, though.”

Hyungwon sighs and pulls the bouquet close again. “Why? They're your flowers.”

“But if I touch them--”

“They get immortalized in ice? They look beautiful? If I put them in a vase and leave, they'll just die in a few days. But if you take them…” Hyungwon says, holding them back out towards him. “...they’ll live forever.”

“In ice. Cold.”

Hyungwon sighs. “You say that like it's a bad thing.”

Kihyun frowns a bit. He carefully reaches out and takes one of the flowers from the bouquet. As always, it freezes. He sighs and holds it out for Hyungwon to see. 

“Isn't it a bad thing? To see something so beautiful and bright turn so frigid,” Kihyun asks. 

Hyungwon looks at the flower for a moment before looking at Kihyun. 

“That's not what I see.”

“Then what do you see?”

“It's still bright and beautiful. Just touched by winter. Being touched by winter isn't something terrible.”

Kihyun blinks at him for a moment before hurriedly looking away, back down at the bouquet. 

“You think so?” He asks. 

“I'm sure of it,” Hyungwon says. Kihyun smiles a bit as he takes the bouquet from him, cradling it in his arms like something precious as it frosts over. 

“Help me find a place to put them, then,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon smiles. “Of course. Lead the way.”

Kihyun smiles brightly, and Hyungwon feels his heart stick for a moment before Kihyun is walking down a hall. It takes a few seconds for Hyungwon to unfreeze and follow after him.

At the end of the hall, Kihyun opens a large door, and holds it open for him. Hyungwon loses his breath as he walks into the most magnificent sun room he has ever seen. The entire ceiling and upper half of the room is made of what looks like sheer glass, letting the heavens pour light down into it. On the parts of the walls that are thick opaque ice, there are shelves upon shelves of books. 

“Maybe somewhere in here,” Kihyun muses as he walks past Hyungwon to stand in the middle of the room.

There are so many chairs and couches spread throughout the giant room, so many little tables, that Hyungwon feels overwhelmed. All he sees is places where there should be decorations but there isn't. It feels plain and bare despite the amount of furniture in it. 

“You need so many more,” Hyungwon thinks aloud. He freezes again, biting his lip as he turns to look at Kihyun again. 

Kihyun shifts a bit on his feet, looking down at the bouquet. 

“You think so?”

Hyungwon nods. “There could be so many flowers here, it's honestly boggling my mind thinking about it.”

Kihyun laughs and glances around. “If you want to fill it with flowers, I wouldn't mind.”

“Really?”

Kihyun nods and walks up to a table in the middle of the room. He waves his hand around and suddenly a vase made of ice forms on top of it. Kihyun gently puts the flowers into it and takes a step back. 

“What do you think? Is here good?” Kihyun asks. 

Hyungwon knows he isn't checking. He isn't looking at the flowers at all. He's just looking at Kihyun as he bites his lip and fusses over the positioning of the vase on the table, trying to make sure it's centered. 

“Yes. I think there is perfect,” Hyungwon says softly. 

Kihyun looks back at him and smiles before he takes a step back to look over his work. He nods. “I think you’re right, Hyungwon. This place needs a lot more flowers.”

Hyungwon smiles. “I'm glad you agree.”

“But you'll be busy, won't you? Since you have so much magic right now.”

Hyungwon waves his concern off. “I definitely have enough magic to make you flowers. I always have enough magic to make flowers,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun smiles and nods. “As long as you can still finish all your other work...I don't see any problem with you helping me decorate this place a bit,” Kihyun says. 

“Of course.”

“And if you need anything at all from me--”

“As long as you bless all the flowers I bring in here and give them a place to be. That's all I need,” Hyungwon says. He looks over the room again, trying to imagine it full of every flower he can think of. 

“I can do that. Bring as many as you want,” Kihyun says. 

“I can’t believe you're basically giving me full power over how this room looks,” Hyungwon says with a little laugh. He looks over at Kihyun, and Kihyun is staring at him again, that smile on his face.

“Why not? Aren't we friends?” Kihyun asks. 

Hyungwon knows he must look shocked with the way Kihyun's face falls a bit and he shakes his head. 

“Oh! Sorry! I didn't mean to assume! I just--”

“Friends. Definitely,” Hyungwon says with a smile. 

Kihyun seems relieved as he smiles again. “Good. I'm glad to call you my friend then, Hyungwon,” Kihyun says softly. 

And Hyungwon can't help but smile as he feels the room get a bit colder. Like Kihyun is so excited that it changed the room. 

“And I'm glad to call you my friend, Kihyun,” Hyungwon says back. 

“What exactly is going on between you and Kihyun?” Minhyuk asks as he dodges a flying recipe book. 

Hyungwon sighs as he takes the book from the air and sets it to float in front of him as he turns the pages. 

“Nothing. We’re just friends. He likes flowers,” Hyungwon says. 

“Right, but you can see how it's strange for us,” Changkyun says. He's cleverly sitting in the corner of the room, away from all the things Hyungwon has flying around. 

“Exactly. I mean, I don't think I've ever seen him before he showed up at the festival,” Hoseok says. He is trying to make himself as small as a person his size can be, hovering near a wall with his arms crossed, and his head slightly ducked down. 

Minhyuk is probably the only person in the universe who would risk pacing around the room while Hyungwon is working away. 

“Look, I know. I do. It was weird for me too, but he's nice! I think he was just lonely,” Hyungwon says. He finds the page he's looking for and marks it, so it stays in place. He waves his hands and all the ingredients for it come flying out toward his work table, causing Minhyuk to huff as he hurries out of the way. 

“Well, I've been trying to get him out of that palace for millenia--”

“We know,” Changkyun says. 

Minhyuk huffs again, stopping in the middle of the room to straighten out his shirt. 

“Look, I'm very glad that Kihyun is finally,  _ finally _ , coming out into the world when it's not covered in snow. I just want to know what I was doing wrong,” he says. 

Hyungwon frowns. “Nothing. You weren't doing anything wrong.”

“Apparently, you just needed to be a cute spring witch,” Hoseok says with a smirk. Hyungwon narrows his eyes at him, and all the ingredients freeze midair like they’re about to fly at him. Hoseok puts his hands up. “It's a joke! And I called you cute,” he says with a pout. 

Hyungwon sighs and the ingredients keep moving again. He waits until all of them have lined themselves up nicely on his table before he picks up the first one, powdered dragonfly wings, and starts measuring out how much he needs. 

“I think he just needed someone to go out of their way to reach out to him. Like sure, you invited him places, but he probably felt like you were obligated to. Same for all the letter invitations he got from the rest of the gods,” Hyungwon says. 

“Did he say that?” Minhyuk says. 

Hyungwon shakes his head. “No. But that's what it feels like. Otherwise, why else would he come?”

“Maybe you're special,” Changkyun muses. 

Hyungwon huffs and pours the powder into his cauldron before moving on to the next ingredient. 

“I'm not any more special than you, or Minhyuk, or Hoseok. And I'm definitely not more special than Hyunwoo or Jooheon or Hakyeon are.” Hyungwon flinches a bit. “Well, was, in Hakyeon's case.”

“Ah, but you have flowers,” Minhyuk says. 

Hyungwon huffs. “ _ All of you _ have flowers too! Especially Hoseok!”

“Not like you though. No one thinks about flowers and goes ‘ah yes, how lovely the winter will be when the flowers come’ or ‘my favorite part of summer is definitely the flowers.’ That is a thing reserved for spring,” Minhyuk says. 

“And you really do make the loveliest flowers,” Hoseok says. Hyungwon can't help but smile at the compliment as he pours rose water into his cauldron. 

“I appreciate that,” Hyungwon says. 

“What are you making over there, anyway?” Changkyun asks. 

“Oh, Jooheon said the spring harvest wasn't going as well as he hoped in this one town, so he asked me for something to help the crops grow without him literally blessing the whole town,” Hyungwon asks. 

“Shouldn't you be making more than a cauldron-full then?” Minhyuk asks. 

“It doesn't take much. Especially not if the God of Spring himself is going to be the one putting it out.”

“He really is so caring,” Hoseok says with a little happy sigh. 

“We get it, you love him,” Changkyun says. 

“I never shush you when you talk about Minhyuk,” Hoseok says. 

“Why would I ever talk about Minhyuk? He's always right there,” Changkyun says. 

Hyungwon snorts. “Oh really? I seem to recall a certain blizzard this past year--”

“Stop right there, Hyungwon,” Changkyun says. 

“No, please continue,” Minhyuk says. 

“When Minhyuk was down in the human realm, trying to keep a particularly nasty blizzard at bay, and Changkyun was curled up on that couch right over there, drinking tea and shedding tears about how amazing Minhyuk is,” Hyungwon says. 

Minhyuk beams as he turns to look at Changkyun. “You think I'm amazing?”

Changkyun scoffs. “Obviously.”

Hyungwon smiles as Minhyuk finally goes to sit down next to him, wrapping an arm around him. 

“You two are ridiculous,” Hyungwon says. 

“You'll be ridiculous when you fall in love,” Hoseok says. 

Hyungwon licks his lips as he pours in the last few ingredients before mixing it all up.

“You mean  _ if _ I fall in love,” Hyungwon says. 

“No, when,” Changkyun says.

“Spring is the time for love to bloom. It wouldn't make sense for you to not find it,” Minhyuk says. 

“And yet all of you have found it before me,” Hyungwon mumbles. 

“We were lucky enough to meet our loves earlier in our lives. Hakyeon found his later too, remember?” Hoseok says. 

“How could I not? He gave everything up for it,” Hyungwon says. 

“So you just haven't met yours yet,” Changkyun says. 

“And what happens if it's a human like with Hakyeon?” Hyungwon asks. 

The cottage goes silent. Hyungwon sighs and keeps mixing. 

“Well, we'd miss you,” Minhyuk says after a moment. 

“But we'd be happy for you,” Changkyun says. 

“Weren't you happy for Hakyeon?” Hoseok asks. 

“Of course I was! Behind the panic of wondering if my season would just die, I was happy for him.”

Changkyun snorts. “Well, we'd probably be the same way. Although, less panicked.”

Hyungwon laughs a bit and puts the lid on the cauldron before stepping away. He waves his hand, and the cauldron floats up and over to the fireplace where Hyungwon already has a fire going. 

“Are we done with the things flying around then?” Hoseok asks. 

“For the time being,” Hyungwon says. 

“Fantastic,” Hoseok says as he slinks over to the couch and plops down. Changkyun and Minhyuk soon join him. Hyungwon hums as he cleans up his work station before he grabs a jar of cookies and puts it on the table in front of them. 

“You’re the best,” Changkyun says as he instantly reaches for them. 

“I know,” Hyungwon says. 

“How long does this have to be over the fire?” Hoseok asks as he takes a cookie. 

“A while. I won't take it off until morning,” Hyungwon says. 

He glances over at the clock next to his work station and taps his foot. 

“You have an appointment or something?” Minhyuk asks. 

Hyungwon sighs and looks back down at him. 

“If you must know, Kihyun is expecting me some time today, and I don't want to keep him waiting too long.”

“And why is he expecting you?” Changkyun asks. 

Hyungwon huffs and walks over to his kitchen to peer out the window at the pink tulips he's growing. Pink as Kihyun's lips. 

“Flower delivery,” Hyungwon says. 

He hears snickering from the couch, but he ignores it. 

“You should bring him some of these cookies too. They're delicious,” Hoseok says. Hyungwon hums and walks over to the couch. He picks one up and takes a bite. He nods. 

“Yeah, maybe I should. Does he like sweets, Minhyuk?”

“I think so. But I'm sure if you bring them, he’ll eat them,” Minhyuk says with a smirk.

Hyungwon smacks his arm before he finishes eating his cookie. 

“I don't get why you're all so hung up on this Kihyun thing. We’re just friends.”

“That’s how it always starts,” Changkyun sing-songs. 

Hyungwon huffs and paces away to hide his blushing face. He doesn't want to admit that he wishes it was just the start. That every time he's around Kihyun, he somehow feels warmer than he ever has. The flowers were really just an excuse to see him every day, although he really is putting a lot of effort into the flowers themselves. 

“So what? You go over there every day and give him flowers and that’s it?” Minhyuk asks.

“No. We talk,” Hyungwon says. 

“About?” Changkyun asks. 

Hyungwon sighs and turns around to look at them. He shrugs. “Lots of things. He asks about how things are going. If that’s how they usually go. Sometimes he asks questions about the flowers and how I grow them.”

“And do you not ask him anything back?” Hoseok asks. 

Hyungwon frowns. “I would, but I get the feeling that he doesn’t like talking about himself, honestly. Whenever I ask him if he’s going to come out, or if he’s tried something from the bakery in town, he gets all quiet. He’s fine talking about you though,” Hyungwon says, pointing at Minhyuk. 

Minhyuk scoffs. “What about me?”

“Why don’t you ask him since you’re so close?” Hyungwon asks. Minhyuk sticks his tongue out at him, and Hyungwon sticks his tongue out back. Then he sighs and looks away, not believing that he really just stooped to Minhyuk’s level. Minhyuk starts laughing. 

“Well, go deliver your flowers then. Don’t let us hold you back,” Minhyuk says. 

“We’re going to just hang out here,” Changkyun says, waving at him without looking up from his third cookie. 

“Someone has to watch your pot to make sure it doesn’t do anything strange anyway,” Hoseok says. 

Hyungwon sighs. “Really? You won’t mind?”

“We might eat all of your cookies as recompense,” Minhyuk says. 

Hyungwon laughs and picks up his bag, filling it with the few cookies he didn't put out. “Alright. Don’t burn down my house. I’ll make more cookies when I come back.”

“See you!” Changkyun calls as Hyungwon walks out of the cottage. He walks around to the tulips and carefully picks the twelve prettiest ones before picking them and laying them gently into his bags. He looks them over one last time, still proud of how pink they came out, and then starts making his way towards the winter palace. 

“Ever since you gave me one, I think I’ve become partial to tulips,” Kihyun says as he looks over the newly frozen tulips in his arms. He’s smiling at them so fondly that it makes Hyungwon feel even prouder of them. 

“I’m glad you like them so much.”

“Come help me pick a place for them,” Kihyun says. After a few weeks of this, Kihyun doesn't leave him behind. They walk side by side to the library. When they walk in, Hyungwon is surprised to find that no matter how many flowers are there now, it still feels like not enough. He looks at a table just past the entrance and points to it. 

“Here. This is a good place for them,” Hyungwon says. 

“I can't believe we’ve missed this one,” Kihyun says, already walking to it. Like all the other times, a vase of ice appears under his fingertips, and like every other time, Kihyun gently puts the flowers in it, arranging it carefully to they all sit as beautifully as possible. 

“So?” Kihyun asks, taking a step back. 

“It's perfect.”

Kihyun smiles. “I think so too.”

“Oh! And I brought you something else,” Hyungwon says, rifling around in his bag to pull out the little bundle of cookies. Kihyun’s smile brightens as he holds them out toward him.

“Cookies?” Kihyun says. 

“I've been told they're pretty good,” Hyungwon says smugly. 

“By whom?” Kihyun has an eyebrow raised and a playful grin on his face. Hyungwon is glad to see it. It's taken days upon days of visits to uncover Kihyun’s playful side. 

“Everyone, actually. Except you,” Hyungwon says. 

“Ah, I must be missing out then,” Kihyun says. He opens the little package and takes a bite out of one of the cookies. Hyungwon feels the room go icier as Kihyun's eyes widen. He smiles. 

“Good?” Hyungwon asks. 

“Amazing! You have to teach me how to make them,” Kihyun says. 

“I can definitely show you.”

Kihyun smiles. “Maybe tomorrow when you come? If you tell me the ingredients I can get them.”

Hyungwon nods. “It’ll have to be later in the day, but we can! In the morning, I have to go with Jooheon to take care of that town I was telling you about.”

“Oh! Right. I hope that goes well. And if it turns out that you can’t tomorrow, we can just do it the day after.”

“I want to do it tomorrow, though. I like hanging out with you.”

Kihyun smiles brighter. He steps closer to Hyungwon, and Hyungwon feels his heart stutter. 

“I really like hanging out with you too. But what am I going to do when you finish filling this room with flowers?” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon laughs a bit. “Big castle. Lots of rooms to fill.”

Kihyun laughs and looks around. “You’re right. Could take years.”

“Years? Who are you and what have you done with that old winter god that shunned everyone?” Hyungwon jokes. 

Kihyun bites his lip and looks at him. He shrugs. “I met you.”

Hyungwon blinks at him, the words settling deep inside of him, making the thing that had rooted in his chest weeks ago start to bloom. 

“I’m glad I met you,” Kihyun says, this time a bit more quietly. 

Hyungwon smiles, leaning back against the wall. “I’m glad I met you too.”

Kihyun hums, holding his hands in front of him. The room is getting colder again, and when Hyungwon exhales, his breath comes out in a puff. He shivers, hugging himself a bit. 

“What’s wrong?” Hyungwon asks. 

Kihyun licks his lips. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make it so cold. I just...I’m nervous.”

“Nervous? Why?”

Kihyun looks down. “I know that it’s technically a week or so away, but…”

Hyungwon watches him. He does seem nervous. He’s squeezing his hands together over and over again, and he won’t look at him. He’s never seen him so worked up before. 

He doesn’t know what possesses him exactly, right then. All he knows is that he wants Kihyun to stop being so nervous. He reaches out and puts his hands around Kihyun’s fretting ones. 

Kihyun gasps a bit and looks up at him, eyes wide, but Hyungwon just squeezes them a bit. They’re surprisingly warm. Not really cold at all. 

Hyungwon smiles at him. “What are you so nervous about? It’s just me,” he says softly. 

Kihyun searches his face for a moment, but he doesn’t pull his hands out of Hyungwon’s gentle grip. 

“I...I want to go to the festival. The summer one,” Kihyun says. 

“I was going to ask you if you were planning on going,” Hyungwon says. He wonders if Kihyun wouldn’t feel welcome if he hadn’t invited him. But Kihyun just nods a bit. 

“I want to, it’s just--”

“What?”

“I want to go with you. The two of us. We could...we could go to the bakery together and share a pastry or something. Watch Hyunwoo and Hoseok make summer shine,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon blinks. He’s still holding Kihyun’s hands in his. 

“As...as friends?” Hyungwon asks. 

Kihyun bites his lip. 

Hyungwon squeezes his hands a bit more. “As...more than friends?” he asks. 

Kihyun lets out a shaky little breath. “It’s just. You’ve made things so much brighter here. And I really am glad for your friendship. But I think...what I feel for you is more than just friendship.”

Hyungwon has watched Jooheon make flowers burst into full bloom from thin air in a matter of seconds. He wonders if this is what that feels like. To burst and bloom all at once. 

“Oh,” he says. 

Kihyun pulls his hands away from him, lip caught between his teeth. 

“But if I...I’m overstepping--”

“I would love to go to the festival with you, Kihyun. The two of us. Together,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun’s eyes widen a bit, hopeful. “You would?”

Hyungwon smiles and nods. “I think I have feelings for you too.”

Kihyun’s grin is so wide it’s almost blinding. “You do?”

Hyungwon laughs a bit and nods, and he reaches a hand out toward him, hoping that he’d take it. Kihyun giggles a bit and does, intertwining their fingers together. 

“Like a couple,” Kihyun says. 

“Well, I’ve already been bringing you flowers,” Hyungwon says. 

“You have! Such beautiful flowers, too,” Kihyun says. He seems almost giddy now, squeezing Hyungwon’s hand and laughing a bit as he smiles. 

“I haven’t seen you look so happy since the day of the festival,” Hyungwon says. 

“I don’t think I have been so happy,” Kihyun says. And then it’s like he’s realized that he’s being too overtly eager. He pulls away and covers his mouth. Hyungwon laughs. 

“I’m glad to have made you so happy,” he says. 

Kihyun grins and takes both of Hyungwon’s hands in his again. “I know you have to leave soon to get back to your potions, but I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Of course. And every day after, probably,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun squeezes his hands, his thumbs rubbing over Hyungwon’s knuckles. 

“I’ll look forward to it, then,” he says. 

Hyungwon smiles. He glances at the clock on the wall and knows that he should start heading back now. He sighs because he doesn’t want to leave just yet. Not now. Not when he knows Kihyun has feelings for him too. 

“You should go. I don’t want to be the reason you’re shirking your responsibilities,” Kihyun says. 

“I know. I know. But…”

“But what?”

“I just...am really happy too, Kihyun. You just made me so happy,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun smiles and squeezes his hands again before tentatively leaning in and kissing his cheek. Hyungwon knows his face is flushed, but he couldn’t care less. He leans in and kisses Kihyun’s cheek back, and it was just as warm as his hands. When he pulls away, they’re as pink as his lips. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then,” Kihyun says.

“Tomorrow.”

Once Hyungwon makes it out of the winter palace, he grabs his own face, smiling to himself. He doesn’t think he’s ever been this giggly before. He can’t wait to get back home and tell all his friends.

It’s the last day of spring. Hyungwon can feel it in his veins. All the elevated power he got used to in the past months would be gone in the morning.

This is the first time in a long time, that he didn't feel sad about that prospect. 

Especially not as Kihyun marvels at a flower with petals the size of his face. 

“I've never seen a flower like this before,” Kihyun says. 

“It’s brand new. One of a kind. I made it just for you,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun grins and takes it from him, watching as it frosts over. He stopped frowning at that a while ago, but it still makes Hyungwon happy that he now sees it for what it is. A gift. 

“You didn't have to do that,” Kihyun says. 

“I know, but it's the last day of spring. I won't be able to do anything as big as this for the rest of the year.”

“Do your powers weaken that much?” 

It's easy to forget that his self-inflicted isolation made him a bit out of touch. But Hyungwon didn't mind. He had the patience. 

“I'll still be able to make flowers, of course. But they won't be as big or come as quickly. And if they do, it'd tire me out more. Nothing horribly drastic, but it's noticeable. There's also just certain spells and potions that I can only make in my season.”

“I know that. I know Minhyuk likes to show off making snow fall whenever he wants during the winter, but he could never make that happen in the other seasons.”

Hyungwon snorts as he starts walking toward the library, Kihyun following after him. “If it makes you feel better, I think all the gods don't understand it well. Since you never have to worry about that.”

“Obviously not. I can't imagine the other seasons affecting my powers. Melting my palace or something,” Kihyun grumbles. 

Hyungwon laughs as they walk into the room. There's not many empty spaces left now that Hyungwon has been working extra hard to fill it up. He wanted most of it done before summer hit, so it'd be easier on him later. 

“Hm, we’re going to have to move things around. This one should be in the middle,” Kihyun says. 

“We could move those roses over to the other table,” Hyungwon suggests. 

“Perfect,” Kihyun says. Hyungwon hurries over and picks up the vase full of roses, moving them over to the closest empty table as Kihyun magics up a vase for the new flower. It’s thinner and taller than the other ones he's made, accommodating for the size of it. 

“It looks good,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun hums and takes a step back, reaching his hand out toward him. Hyungwon smiles and walks over to take it.

“It does. Pink must be your favorite color,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon looks at him. “Why do you think that?”

Kihyun smiles like he has everything figured out. He waves his free hand around the room. 

“I mean, look around. Almost all of them are the same shade of pink. You must be partial to it,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon feels himself blush, and Kihyun tilts his head. “What?”

“That's...I mean, I guess I am partial to it, but that's not why all the flowers are pink.”

“Oh? Then why? Do they look better frozen?”

Hyungwon blushes more. “No, it's just...sometimes for a color I need a reference. And I didn't have a good one for that color of pink until recently.”

“Oh! Well, that's exciting,” Kihyun says, and he's smiling and squeezing his hand. Happy for him.

“It is,” Hyungwon says. 

“Do you mind telling me what the reference is?”

Hyungwon clears his throat and looks at him. “It’s...well.” 

“Well?”

Hyungwon reaches up and points at Kihyun’s lips. Kihyun frowns for a moment like he's confused. And then his eyes light up as he takes Hyungwon’s finger in his hand. 

“My lips?” Kihyun says with a little laugh. 

And Hyungwon has never wanted to kiss him so badly. 

“Yes. I know that’s strange.”

“It isn't. I'm flattered honestly,” Kihyun says. 

“You are?” 

“Yes. You must have been really entranced by my lips to notice,” Kihyun says with a grin.

Hyungwon laughs and wants to kiss him. They've only ever placed soft little pecks on each other’s cheeks, but that's not what he wants. Still, he leans in and kisses the apple of Kihyun's cheek, making Kihyun smile even more. 

And maybe it would be disrespectful to kiss a God first. 

“Kihyun,” Hyungwon whispers. 

“Yes?”

He just needed to ask. Hoseok did it all the time, after all. He squeezes Kihyun's hands and pulls him closer. Kihyun's eyes widen a bit, looking up at him curiously. 

“Would...would you let me kiss you?” Hyungwon asks softly. 

The air gets so chilled that Hyungwon actually shivers. Kihyun smiles and nods. 

“I would. If you wanted to,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon smiles and tentatively leans in, and Kihyun moves even closer. When their lips touch, something cold passes over Hyungwon’s spine, but then he’s just warm from the inside out. So happy, he can't contain it. 

Kihyun’s lips are smooth against his, and everything feels so light. Like the feeling of snowflakes landing on skin. Kihyun pulls away, and smiles at him, already giggling a bit. 

When he glances around he's laughing harder. Hyungwon blinks and looks around to see that all the flowers in the room had floated over to be around them, and he blushes. He certainly didn't mean to do that. 

“Sorry,” Hyungwon says. He waves the flowers off, back to where they came from, and Kihyun is still laughing as he reaches up and pulls Hyungwon’s face toward him. 

“Kiss me again,” Kihyun says. 

And Hyungwon smiles. How could he ever deny the sweet wishes of a God?

They spend the rest of the afternoon curled up together on one of the couches, exchanging soft little kisses and laughter. Hyungwon had never felt so cold and warm at the same time in his life, everything freezing around them with Kihyun’s happiness, and Hyungwon’s own happiness warming him from his toes to the top of his head. 

The shivers down his spine were to be expected. Hyungwon didn't even think twice about them, chalking them up to just the excitement and nervousness of something new growing. 

It was still spring, after all.

  
  



	2. Summer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If spring is when love blooms, then summer is the time when love starts bearing fruit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Yes, this story is still happening I have just been busy and had awful writer's block, but I'm back! I hope y'all enjoy!

When the first day of summer comes, Hyungwon feels it almost as strongly as he felt the first day of spring. It isn't exactly exhaustion. Hyungwon feels fine. But it’s  _ just  _ fine when every day of spring he woke up like the sun rose and poured its energy directly into his veins. Maybe it did. He knows that his magic won't be as powerful or as strong or as fast as it was for the past three months. 

It’s strange to suddenly feel normal again after getting used to the long buzz. 

But then he remembers his plans for the day, and he hops out of bed, already excited. He runs around getting dressed in a hurry, checking himself in the mirror far too often. He hears a bell ring, and he knows it's from his gate, so he grabs his small coin purse and hurries out of his cottage. 

Kihyun is standing outside his gate, smiling up the path to him, hands behind his back. Hyungwon smiles back. 

“You’re early,” he calls to him. 

“Am I?” Kihyun calls back. 

Hyungwon hums and closes the door before walking down the path. He leans over the gate and kisses Kihyun. 

“You are. I haven't even picked your flower yet,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun laughs a bit. “I could close my eyes?” 

Hyungwon giggles and nods. “No peeking.”

Kihyun closes his eyes, and Hyungwon opens the gate. As soon as he does, the flowers lining his garden wall shake. Hyungwon glances down at them, frowning. He reaches down and feels how cold the air is there. 

They’re shivering, he realizes. The flowers. He frowns and waves over them, giving them extra strength, and it's not a very hard spell, but it makes his fingers tremble with the effort.

Summer. It always had to come and weaken him again. 

“Does it usually take you so long to choose a flower?” Kihyun asks. 

“Yes,” Hyungwon says quickly before glancing around and plucking the first pink thing he sees. 

“I'll love anything you give me,” Kihyun says softly. 

Hyungwon can't help but smile as he holds out the flower which he sees now is a dahlia. Kihyun opens his eyes and gasps, smile growing. 

“Oh! It's so pretty!” He says. He reaches a hand out and gently takes it, and Hyungwon is so glad that he doesn't falter when it freezes over. 

“I'm glad you like it,” Hyungwon says. 

“I do! It has so many petals!” And Hyungwon can't believe how excited he is about petals, but he finds it adorable. 

“Yes! It means grace and kindness. They only just started blooming a few weeks ago,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun grins. “I brought something for you, too.”

Hyungwon raises a brow. “Oh?”

Kihyun finally moves the hand from behind his back. Hyungwon’s heart melts when he sees a perfect recreation of a tulip made of ice in Kihyun's hand. 

“It took me a while, but I think I finally got it right,” Kihyun says. 

“It’s so pretty,” Hyungwon says as he takes it. It's not as cold as he thought it'd be, not sticking to his fingers with its frigidness. 

“It’ll never melt or anything. You can even keep it out in the garden, and it’ll be fine,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon smiles and kisses Kihyun’s cheek again before he walks back up and places it in the little holder next to his front door. 

“This is fine until I find a proper place to put it.”

“Next to your front door seems like a proper enough place,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon grins and walks back down to him. He closes the gate behind him. 

“I can't wait for you to see the summer festival, though,” Hyungwon says. He reaches out and takes Kihyun’s hand in his, and he smiles brighter to suppress the shiver he feels run down his spine. It's strange, really. Kihyun’s hand feels warm in his, but the cold feels like it comes from somewhere else. Like it just envelopes them entirely.

“Oh? I don't think it’ll be more extravagant than your spring one and the explosion of flowers everywhere,” Kihyun says. He squeezes his hand as he starts walking, and Hyungwon follows along with him, taking in the subtle changes in the air from spring to summer as they walk down the road. 

Spring was mistier. Humid. It came with light showers and sprinkles and dewy mornings that become dewy afternoons. Summer is warmer and drier, and the rains come in the form of thunderstorms that cry out across the skies, and the dew on the grass only lasts a few hours before the sun dries it all away. 

Hyungwon can feel it in the air. The change. He takes a deep breath and sighs.

“Hm. Unhappy about your season ending?” Kihyun asks. 

Hyungwon looks at him and smiles shyly. “A bit. I know you guys don't understand since your powers don't fluctuate like ours do, but...it is a bit hard. One day you still feel electric and like you can do anything, and the next day it's just…back to simple spells and twice as much effort if not more.”

“Minhyuk complains about it all the time the last few days of winter. How he needs to get as much done as he can before it ends.”

“I think Minhyuk’s is one of the harsher transitions, honestly. Like the snow does start to melt near the end, but it must be hard going from a winter wonderland to...well, this,” Hyungwon says, gesturing over the dry grass and wildflowers they are walking past. 

Kihyun hums. “It is a big change, but at least it isn't a terrible change.”

“Do you not find snow pretty?” Hyungwon asks. 

“I think snow is beautiful. But I also know that flowers are beautiful. And they very rarely mix.”

Hyungwon nods and squeezes his hand. “Until now, I guess.”

Kihyun laughs, and his whole face brightens up like the sun itself decided to dim for him. Hyungwon can only stare for a moment, struck at how beautiful he is. 

“Are you the flower? Am I the snow?” Kihyun asks. 

“Hm, you said that, not me.”

Kihyun laughs again, and Hyungwon smiles as he leans closer to him, wanting to be as close as possible. 

“Oh, the banner has changed,” Kihyun says, pointing up ahead. Hyungwon looks up to see the entrance to the town. The banner above the walkway has changed from vines into glass with daylilies embedded into it. 

“Glass?” Kihyun asks. 

Hyungwon nods. “Made from sand. Hoseok and Hyunwoo are amazing at making it and shaping it.”

Kihyun blinks back up at the banner. “Really?”

“You didn't know?” Hyungwon asks. It comes out light. Like a joke. But Kihyun frowns a bit, and Hyungwon’s heart sinks. 

“I really have missed much,” he says softly. 

Hyungwon squeezes his hand, and Kihyun looks at him. 

“You’re here now. That's what matters,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun nods and smiles small before they walk into the town together, past the glass into the town where there's loud music playing and people dancing. 

“Hyungwon! You came!” 

Hyungwon looks up to see Hoseok running over. He reluctantly lets go of Kihyun's hand to let Hoseok gather him up in a strong hug. 

“Of course, I came. I haven't missed a festival in years,” Hyungwon says as he squeezes Hoseok back. Hoseok giggles and pulls away before he turns to Kihyun. 

The summer always looked good on Hoseok. He was always bright and happy, but it was almost indescribable once summer started. The sun kissed a few more freckles onto his skin, and he always seemed to be slightly glowing. 

“I'm glad you came too! Wait! Hyunwoo will be so excited!” Hoseok says. 

“Will he?” Kihyun asks with a grin. 

“Yeah, you should come and...wait, have you guys eaten yet?” Hoseok asks. 

Hyungwon grins. He could always rely on Hoseok to make sure he was always fed. 

“Not yet,” Hyungwon says. He takes Kihyun's hand again as Hoseok's eyes widen, and he starts guiding them toward the cafe. 

“Eat first! We’ll catch up with you after!” Hoseok calls over the sound of the drums. 

“Okay! We’ll come find you!” Hyungwon calls back as he pulls Kihyun into the cafe. The room gets much quieter once the doors close behind them, and Hyungwon sighs. 

“What do you get here?” Kihyun asks as he glimpses up at the menu. 

Hyungwon hums and pulls Kihyun with him to the register. “Usually one of the pastries. If I'm really hungry, then maybe a sandwich.”

“Ah. Just order two of whatever you’re getting while I go find us a seat,” Kihyun says. He hesitates for a moment before he presses a kiss to Hyungwon’s cheek and hurries away, leaving Hyungwon staring dazedly after him. 

“Your order, dear?” The woman behind the register asks. 

Hyungwon clears his throat and looks at her, and she gives him a kind smile. 

“Two chocolate croissants?” Hyungwon asks. 

“We have fresh lemonade. Would you two like some?” She asks. 

Hyungwon nods instantly, remembering the lemonade from last year. 

“I'll have that right up for you,” she says. 

“How much--”

“The God of Winter surely doesn't need to pay for his meals here,” the woman says quickly. 

“Oh,” Hyungwon says. She smiles at him before she walks off to get his order, and he looks around the room to see where Kihyun went, but doesn't see him on that side of the room. 

“Here you go!”

Hyungwon turns back around to grab the bag and two drinks before he walks around to find Kihyun sitting at a little round table in the corner with Minhyuk and Changkyun. Hyungwon bites his lip as he walks up. 

“Hey,” Hyungwon says. 

“Hey,” Changkyun says before he takes a bite out of a sandwich. 

“I didn't know you two were coming,” Minhyuk says with a little smile. 

Hyungwon rolls his eyes as he puts the drinks and bag down on the table before settling down in a chair next to Kihyun. 

“Do I have to tell you all my plans?” Hyungwon asks. 

“Of course not. But I was just surprised to see both of you here,” Minhyuk says. 

“Especially on the first day. You’re usually moping the first day,” Changkyun says. 

Hyungwon huffs. “I do not  _ mope. _ ”

“He totally mopes,” Minhyuk says to Kihyun. 

Kihyun grins. “I could tell, honestly.”

“Hey! I don't mope!” Hyungwon says before he takes a sip of his lemonade. 

“Whatever you say,” Kihyun replies as he fishes one of the croissants out of the bag and takes a bite. 

“We all mope, don't be so embarrassed,” Changkyun says. 

“I don't,” Minhyuk says. 

“No, you pre-mope. You mope as winter ends so it's all done by the time the spring festival hits,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon snorts as Minhyuk glares at Kihyun. 

“That is  _ not _ what happens,” Minhyuk sputters out. 

“Hm, then what else would you call it?” Kihyun asks as he takes another bite. 

“Mourning,” Changkyun jokes.

“I never thought you'd betray me like this, Changkyun,” Minhyuk says dramatically. 

Changkyun laughs and instantly plasters himself to Minhyuk's side, wrapping his arms around him and kissing at the side of his face as Minhyuk pretends to grumble. 

Hyungwon smiles and shakes his head, used to their shenanigans by now. He eats his croissant and glances over at Kihyun. Kihyun seems to be slightly stuck, watching Minhyuk and Changkyun bicker and hold each other. He's smiling a bit, idle as he watches them. 

Hyungwon leans closer to him, and the spell seems to break, Kihyun looking over at him. 

“Do you like the food?” Hyungwon asks. 

“I do! It's really sweet,” Kihyun says. And then he licks his lips. “Like you.”

Hyungwon’s eyes widen as Minhyuk very loudly groans. 

“Please tell me that's not how you flirt, Kihyun,” Minhyuk says. 

Kihyun looks at him. “What?”

“It's so…” Minhyuk starts. 

“Lame,” Changkyun finishes. 

“Exactly!” Minhyuk says. Kihyun laughs a bit and looks back over at Hyungwon. 

“What about you? Do you think that was lame?” he asks. 

Hyungwon blinks at him. “Well...um…”

“Hyungwon, are you serious?” Changkyun asks. 

Hyungwon frowns at him. “It was cute!”

“Well, now we know that Hyungwon  _ likes  _ lame,” Minhyuk says. 

“It wasn't  _ that _ lame,” Kihyun defends. 

Changkyun and Minhyuk look at each other. 

“Oh, darling, this sandwich is so delicious. Like you,” Changkyun says, fluttering his eyelids for effect. 

Hyungwon bites his lip to stop himself from laughing, but Kihyun snorts. 

“Do you see that light? That's you in my life,” Minhyuk says, exaggerating his voice as much as possible. 

Changkyun laughs and nudges Minhyuk before taking another bite of his sandwich. 

“See? Awful. Just awful,” Minhyuk says. 

“It wasn't that horrific,” Hyungwon says. 

“I hope not,” Kihyun says. 

He wipes his hands clean with a napkin before taking Hyungwon’s hand in his. Hyungwon smiles and intertwines their fingers. 

“How do you think Hyunwoo is going to make the beach look this year?” Changkyun asks. 

“What do you mean?” Kihyun asks. 

“Every year, Hyunwoo always changes or adds something to the beach when summer comes,” Hyungwon says. 

“It's his one time a year he shows off,” Minhyuk says. 

“Ah,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon squeezes his hand. There's always something sad about Kihyun whenever he’s made aware of how out of touch he's been. How much he's missed. How much he doesn't know. 

“Last year he made all the sand pure white. Like sugar,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun’s eyes go all wide, and Hyungwon finds himself melting again at how adorable he looks. 

“That must have been pretty,” Kihyun says. 

“It was, but I wonder what will happen this time,” Changkyun says. 

“There's only one way to find out,” Minhyuk says. He gets up, starting to clean up his space. Hyungwon sighs and repacks the food they hadn't eaten yet, putting it all in his coin purse before getting up. Kihyun stares at him with a furrowed brow. 

“How much can you fit in there?” he asks.

“Oh, as much as I need to. Hakyeon made it before he left. I think he gave all of us one,” Hyungwon says, shaking the seemingly empty little purse.

“I see. And this magic doesn’t tire you out?” Kihyun asks as he stands up. 

“No, because it technically isn’t my magic. It’s the bag’s.”

The four of them make their way back out into the square, glancing around. There are more people than before, all crowding around the square, talking excitedly with each other. The sun beats down on all of them, and Hyungwon has to blink against the brightness while his eyes fully adjust. 

“What are we looking for?” Kihyun asks Hyungwon. 

“Hoseok or Hyunwoo,” Hyungwon says. 

“Not Jooheon? Wouldn't he be with them even if it's not his season?” Kihyun asks. 

“He would be, but Hoseok and Hyunwoo stand out more,” Changkyun answers.

Kihyun frowns at them before looking around. “But how?”

He gets his answer quickly, once Hoseok and Hyunwoo make their appearance. On top of both of their heads sat huge vibrant crowns of sunflowers, so yellow and bright that they’re easy to spot in a crowd. Jooheon is still close to them, holding Hoseok’s hand, but he doesn't have any adornments that stand out quite like theirs. 

“Wow,” Kihyun says. 

“Do you not wear a crown in winter?” Hyungwon asks. 

“I do, but nothing quite as...bright,” Kihyun says. 

“I've offered,” Minhyuk says. 

“It'd be too heavy if I wore whatever sculpture you made,” Kihyun replies. 

Hyungwon snorts and tugs on Kihyun’s hand. 

“Come on, then. We haven't even looked at the beach yet,” Hyungwon says. 

The four of them weave through the crowd to get closer to where Hoseok and Hyunwoo are greeting the people, smiling brightly, and giving out little glass and clay trinkets. 

“Happy first day of summer,” Changkyun calls out, and Hoseok instantly looks up and finds them in the crowd. His smile somehow gets even brighter. 

“Happy first day of summer, guys! Oh, Kihyun! I don’t think I've ever given you one of these before. Here,” Hoseok says. He reaches into a bag at his hip, sand trickling out of his fingers. He squeezes his fist around the clump of sand before holding it out to Kihyun. Instead of sand, there sat a tiny glass snowman, grinning up at them. 

Kihyun grins and takes it from him, marveling at the tiny details. 

“Thank you! It's so pretty!” Kihyun says.

Hyunwoo finally turns toward them then. He was always tan, but like Hoseok, he truly shined in the summer. The yellow of the sunflowers contrasted the bronze of his skin and made him look like he almost shimmered.

Kihyun smiles and waves a bit before Hyunwoo smiles and waves back as he walks over, putting his hands on Hoseok’s shoulders and squeezing them.

“Is this your first summer festival?” Hyunwoo asks. 

“You know it is,” Kihyun answers. 

“Hoseok, go ahead and take them to the beach. I'll stay here for a while,” Hyunwoo says. 

“Alright. Call me if you need me,” Hoseok says. He kisses Hyunwoo’s cheek before he grabs Changkyun and Kihyun’s hands and pulls them out of the crowd. They hurry along after him, walking past the square and the temple. 

“What did Hyunwoo do this year?” Changkyun asks excitedly.

“You'll see! I think it's really pretty!” Hoseok says. 

It isn't a long walk, but they have to go through some trees, following a slightly overgrown path that Hoseok clears as he walks, his palms glowing golden. Then the trees shake with a slight breeze and Hyungwon peeks over Hoseok to get his first glance. 

His breath catches. 

The beach is only really visited in the summer, though it always lays past the little town all year long. The shore stretches for miles in both directions, and when Hyungwon would stand at the edge of the water and look out, the ocean spread out towards the horizon until the water and the sky became one. Last year, the sand had been soft and as white as powdered sugar, but this year, everything was glowing blush pink in the sun. 

“See? Isn't it lovely?” Hoseok asks as they all slowly step onto the warm sand, so warm it radiates up through Hyungwon's shoes. 

“I don't think I've seen this much pink outside of Hyungwon’s garden,” Minhyuk says. 

Hyungwon laughs a bit. “This is--”

“I don’t think there’s that much of this specific shade of pink, though,” Kihyun says. Hyungwon looks at him, and Kihyun is staring around, a little smile on his face. 

Hyungwon finds himself smiling along with him. “No, you’re right. This is much lighter in general.”

“You guys are caught up on the pink, but look how blue the sky is! And at night, just imagine the fireflies and the bonfires and the music!” Hoseok says. He’s walking around, arms outstretched like he’s showing off things that are already there and not just his own imaginings. 

“You should convince some fireflies to sit in Hyunwoo’s crown. It would really add something,” Changkyun says. 

Hoseok nods. “That is a fantastic idea, actually.”

“Okay, are we just going to stand here? Or are we going to go actually enjoy the beach?” Minhyuk asks. 

Hoseok huffs, and Hyungwon can’t help but laugh a bit at how serious he suddenly is. 

“Let’s take a moment to appreciate Hyunwoo’s very hard work in making the beach look beautiful and wonderful first,” Hoseok says. 

“Is he always like this?” Kihyun whispers to Hyungwon. 

“Every year,” Hyungwon responds. 

Kihyun nods sagely and looks around. “He’s right though. This is beautiful.”

“If you think it’s pretty now, wait until the sun sets.”

Kihyun smiles and pulls Hyungwon closer, wrapping an arm around his waist. “I like that idea. Staying here all day together. Watching the sun set.”

Hyungwon smiles and turns his head toward him, and Kihyun smiles and kisses the corner of his lip softly before pulling away. 

“Come on,” Minhyuk says, and it takes a second for the both of them to realize that Minhyuk is talking to them. Hyungwon’s cheeks flush at the smile Minhyuk throws at him before he starts walking down towards the water with Changkyun. Hoseok gives them a small encouraging wave before he follows after them. 

“So, do you want to try swimming? Or we could just walk around for a while?” Hyungwon asks. 

Kihyun hums and kisses his cheek again before taking his hand. 

“Let’s go swim, then,” he says.

They walk down closer to the water while Hyungwon reaches into his coin purse to pull out a towel. They lay it down on the ground and then drop the purse on it before Hyungwon takes off the shirt and pants he has on over his swim clothes. He throws the clothes into the purse. 

“Do you want me to put your snowman and your clothes in here too?” Hyungwon asks. He looks up at Kihyun, and his heart stops. 

Kihyun is standing there shirtless, holding his other clothes in a bundle in front of him. Hyungwon’s eyes trace up over the straight lines of his body before finally landing on his face, and Kihyun blinks down at him before smiling some. 

“What?” Kihyun asks. 

Hyungwon clears his throat and looks back down at the ground. “You want me to put your clothes in here?” he asks again. 

“Yes, please, if you don’t mind,” Kihyun says. He holds his clothes out, and Hyungwon takes them without looking before stuffing them all unceremoniously into the bag. Kihyun squats down next to him. 

“Why are you blushing so much?” Kihyun asks. 

Hyungwon bites his lip and looks up at him, and Kihyun is still grinning. Now he understands how he and Minhyuk are such good friends. 

“You know why,” Hyungwon says before he gets up. Kihyun looks up at him for a second before standing as well. 

“Well, this is what you wear to swim, isn’t it? Look, Hoseok isn’t wearing a shirt either,” Kihyun says, pointing past them. 

“I never said you weren’t allowed. I just wasn’t expecting it.”

Kihyun laughs and pokes at Hyungwon’s covered stomach. “To be honest, I wasn’t expecting you to be wearing this either.”

Hyungwon looks down at himself. His swim clothes are made up of a tight wool shirt that covered his torso but left his arms bare and short wool pants that came down to his mid-thigh. They were dyed a navy blue, and he thought he looked perfectly fine in it. 

“What is the problem with this?” Hyungwon asks. 

“Well, nothing. But it just wasn’t what I was expecting. The summer is an excuse to show off your body, after all.”

Hyungwon looks him up and down. “Is that what you’re doing?”

“I’m the God of Winter, Hyungwon. I didn’t have many chances to before.”

Hyungwon snorts, and Kihyun smiles before he leans closer and kisses his cheek. 

“If you’re this covered up now, I don’t even want to imagine you in the winter,” he says. 

“Changkyun says I become only a nose the few times I go out. That’s all you can see.”

Kihyun laughs, and Hyungwon wonders if the sun shines brighter for the few moments that he does. 

“At least it’s a pretty nose,” Kihyun says. He squeezes Hyungwon’s hand for a moment before he starts walking down towards the water. 

If spring is when love blooms, then summer is the time when love starts bearing fruit. 

Every summer that had passed before, Hyungwon had fun with his friends, running around and swimming at the beach and soaking in the summer sun. But there was something about the summer that made him feel lonely. His friends all had lovers and would run off to enjoy the day with them, and then Hyungwon would be left alone, collecting shells on the beach to use for spells later to avoid staring his loneliness in the face.

Hyungwon stares over at where Kihyun is dipping his toes into the water and glancing back at him with a smile, and all Hyungwon can think is that this summer will be different. This summer his friends could run off into the sunset, and Kihyun would still be there next to him, holding his hand and smiling. 

Hyungwon smiles and runs down to the water, grabbing Kihyun’s hand and laughing when he yelps at getting tugged further in. 

“Come on! The water’s warm,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun grins and lets himself get tugged forward, both of them walking into the water until Hyungwon plops down, the water coming up to his chest when he sits. Kihyun squeezes his hand and sits down next to him. 

The water around them instantly gets a bit colder, and Kihyun groans as he scoots a bit away from him. 

“Sorry. I knew it wouldn't instantly freeze because of the salt, but I didn't know how cold it'd get,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon hums, moving his arms around in the water. 

“It isn't too bad. It's basically what it feels like in the mornings,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun doesn't look convinced. Reaching out, Hyungwon grabs his hands and pulls him closer again. 

“If it gets too cold, I’ll tell you, but this is fine. Besides, I could use magic to warm myself up if I needed to.”

Kihyun smiles a bit. “Promise you'll tell me if it's too cold?”

“I swear,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun stares at him for a moment before he leans in and kisses him. Smiling, Hyungwon kisses him back. 

The waves are gentle, rocking them back and forth in a slow, smooth motion. It smells like the sea, but not too briny or strong, just the hint of salt in the air. And Kihyun’s lips are soft and warm, and they still taste a bit like chocolate and lemonade. 

And for the first time in a long time, Hyungwon doesn't slightly dread the summer sunset. 

“You didn't have to walk me home,” Hyungwon says. 

“I wanted to,” Kihyun says. His hair is still a bit damp and pushed back out of his face. The lamps that light their way cast a lovely yellow glow on him, and Hyungwon can barely keep his eyes on the road. 

“Are we going again tomorrow?” Hyungwon asks. 

Kihyun smiles. “If you want to! I would love to spend the day with you again.”

Hyungwon smiles and tugs at Kihyun's warm fingertips. And it feels like the easiest thing in the world when Kihyun takes Hyungwon’s hand in his again, pulls it up to his mouth, and kisses it. 

They spend the rest of the walk in silence, but it's pleasant. Holding hands and staring up at the sky as they walk down the easy path to his cottage.

They both stop at the gate, hesitating, squeezing each other’s hands. 

“Tomorrow then,” Kihyun says, as if he's trying to convince himself he has to move. 

“Tomorrow. And every day after if you want that too,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun smiles brighter and tugs Hyungwon closer before wrapping his arms around him. Hyungwon sinks into the embrace, wrapping his arms tight around his shoulders and squeezing him close. 

“It’s funny,” Kihyun says softly. 

“What?” Hyungwon asks. 

Neither of them have moved, still holding each other. 

“A year ago I was by myself in my castle. And now, because of you, I’m not alone anymore,” Kihyun says softly. 

Hyungwon pulls away and looks at him. 

“You were never alone. You just didn't know what was outside your castle walls.”

“Hm. If I had known you were there, I would have come out sooner.”

Hyungwon sputters out a laugh, and Kihyun grins all wide. The way that always makes Hyungwon’s chest ache. And then they kiss again and again before Kihyun finally says goodnight. 

Hyungwon stands next to the gate, watching Kihyun walk back down the road, and he shivers. The summer night breeze chills through him, deep into his bones, and now he doesn't have Kihyun close to share warmth with. 

He hugs himself tight before heading into his garden, keen on making himself a cup of tea before settling into bed. 

The tulip made of ice sits where he left it next to his door, but Hyungwon stops at the frost that has reached out from it, like ivy climbing up a wall. He frowns and waves his hand over it, warming the wall up until the frost melts away and all that’s left is the tulip. He sighs and shakes his hand out afterwards, feeling a strain in his fingers as he walks inside his home. 

“It's cute. What’s the issue?” Minhyuk asks as he holds the tulip made of ice in his hands. 

“No, I love it, but I have nowhere to put it without it...spreading.”

Minhyuk raises a brow as he keeps staring at the flower.

“Spreading?”

“Frost comes out of it and covers whatever it's in or near. I tried putting it in the garden, but the soil froze, and I tried a vase but the table it sat in frosted over, and I honestly don't know where else to put it without it frosting over everything it touches.”

“Ah. I see. That's the thing with Kihyun’s magic. Cold spreads.”

Hyungwon frowns. “So there’s nothing I can do?”

“I didn’t say that. You could probably magic up a container that’s frost resistant, but it’d take a lot of magic and focus. An actual spell,” Minhyuk says. He holds the tulip out towards him, and Hyungwon takes it. It’s strange how it still doesn’t feel as cold as it is. How it doesn’t spread the chill to his fingers. 

“It wouldn’t be too hard if you helped?” Hyungwon asks hopefully. 

Minhyuk sighs and slumps forward onto the table. Hyungwon snorts and shakes him a bit. 

“Come on! I know I could do it by myself, but it’d be exhausting. If we did it together--”

“Fine. At least find something good to enchant,” Minhyuk says as he pushes himself up. 

Hyungwon smiles and gently puts the tulip back down on the table. 

“Would a vase be fine, you think?” Hyungwon asks. He gets up and walks over to his cabinets to look through them. 

“I would hope so. That’s where flowers go, after all,” Minhyuk says. 

Hyungwon ignores him as he grabs a pretty vase made for one flower and brings it over to the table before he sits down across from him. Minhyuk looks over the vase before he takes the tulip out and sets it to the side. 

“Alright, come on,” Minhyuk says as he holds his hands out, palms up, next to the vase. Hyungwon takes a deep breath and drops his hands in Minhyuk’s.

“You say the spell, and I'll follow it. You know how to deal with this better than I do,” Hyungwon says. 

Minhyuk nods and presses his hands up against Hyungwon’s palms.

“This vase will be able to contain the multitudes of winter inside of it. It will never crack. It will never break. It will never freeze or frost,” Minhyuk says. His voice is clear and powerful. Hyungwon presses his hands back against Minhyuk’s and feels the power in them. The power in both of them.

“This vase will be able to contain the multitudes of winter inside of it. It will never crack. It will never break. It will never freeze or frost,” Hyungwon repeats after him. 

The vase glows from the inside out, and Minhyuk smiles. They repeat their spell three times each, watching as the vase glows brighter and brighter, changing. 

Hyungwon notices, idly, that it feels like Minhyuk is using less magic than him. He knows it’s not true, but it just feels like he has to struggle more. Use more energy. He curses the fact that his body still isn’t used to the summer even weeks later and focuses more on the vase and the words and what they mean. 

After they finish saying their spell, Hyungwon sighs and pulls his hands away. Minhyuk stretches his neck and rolls his wrists before he picks up the frozen tulip and puts it into the vase. Hyungwon wipes his hand over the spot of frost it has already left on the table from when they put it there. 

“Well, it looks like it’s working for now,” Minhyuk says. Hyungwon looks at the vase, and it hasn’t fogged up from the cold or started to frost over, and he smiles. 

“Amazing. Thank you for your help.”

“No problem. You’re not used to the cold and working with it,” Minhyuk says. 

“I’m working on it. I don’t want to be hiding away all winter when it comes this time.”

“You sure you just don’t want to be able to hold Kihyun’s hand for a longer period of time?”

Hyungwon huffs and crosses his arms. “I can hold his hand just fine, thank you.”

Minhyuk snorts and leans back in his chair and rubs his eyes. 

“You should have asked Hoseok to help you instead. We’re both too weak for this right now.”

Hyungwon shakes his head. “You know he’s too busy right now.”

“Busy. You mean he’s out skipping across the beach giggling and holding hands with not one, but two whole entire gods.”

Hyungwon snorts. “You know that you would be doing the exact same thing if you were him.”

“That's not true,” Minhyuk says. 

Hyungwon raises a brow at him. 

“It isn’t,” Minhyuk says. 

“Oh? It isn’t?”

“I skip for no man, Hyungwon.”

“Oh, please. If Changkyun walked in here right now and asked you to skip with him, you’d be out there in a second.”

Minhyuk frowns at him. “Please, don’t speak that into existence.”

Hyungwon laughs. “Why not?”

“Because.”

“Because you know I’m right?”

Minhyuk scrunches his face up at him, and Hyungwon has his answer. They both start laughing at themselves.

“Fine. Maybe. But unless he asks me, I’m not skipping,” Minhyuk says. 

“I see. Now, if you don’t mind, I need to start cooking,” Hyungwon says, getting up from his seat. 

“I know, I know. Are you and Kihyun going to be at the fireworks later? Apparently Hyunwoo is very proud of them.”

“Yeah! I know Kihyun is excited to see them.”

“Good. I'll see you later then. Let me know if the spell holds up.”

“See you.”

Hyungwon follows Minhyuk out, shutting the door behind him. He leans back against the door and takes a deep breath, still feeling a bit tired from the spell. 

Instead of cooking, he eats a few crackers and lays down to take a nap before Kihyun comes to pick him up. 

Fireworks were always one of Hyungwon’s favorite parts of summer. Now as he watches Kihyun’s smile grow as he watches them light up the night sky, he loves them even more than before. 

“Hyunwoo is so talented,” Kihyun whispers. Hyungwon smiles and leans his head against his shoulder. The dethorned rose he had given Kihyun earlier is pinned to his shirt for now since they couldn’t stop at Kihyun’s palace before coming here. 

“He is.”

The sky lights up then with bright blues and greens, and Kihyun gasps a bit, delighted, and Hyungwon giggles a bit at him. Kihyun sends him a smile before his attention is back on the sky, and Hyungwon goes back to watching him. 

“Is this the only night it happens?” Kihyun asks. 

“No. Hyunwoo usually does a few of these. Can you not hear them from your palace?” 

“No. I had no idea they were so loud,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon snorts. “You didn't?”

“No.”

As if on cue, the sky lights up again, and the explosions boom across the sky with them. Kihyun puts his hand over his chest. 

“You can feel them here,” Kihyun says softly. He's been talking quieter since the fireworks started. Everyone else around them boomed louder, but Kihyun got more silent. Softer. Gentler. As if to balance out the spectacle in the sky. 

“Where?” Hyungwon asks. He lowers his voice too. Softens along with him. 

“Here,” Kihyun says, patting his chest, right over his heart. 

Hyungwon puts his hand over Kihyun's and squeezes it, and Kihyun smiles and kisses his forehead. 

There had never been a more perfect summer night in Hyungwon's memory. Even if a moment later they sky thundered with light and both him and Kihyun jump so high that everyone turns to laugh at them. They laugh along though, and soon there’s more booms and colors, and all the attention is away from them again. 

Kihyun holds him for the rest of the show, and Hyungwon has never felt warmer. 

“Do you think I could do that with snow?” 

Hyungwon hums thoughtfully as they walk, their arms swinging together as they walk.

“Maybe. Where would the light come from though?”

Kihyun clicks his tongue. Squeezes Hyungwon’s hand a bit tighter. 

“Maybe it could happen during the day? Instead of lighting up the night, it’s just bursts of snowflakes in the air,” Kihyun says. 

“That could be fun! And when they burst, it’d just snow beneath them?”

“Exactly! It serves a dual purpose.” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon laughs and tugs at Kihyun’s hand, pulling his arm around him. Kihyun easily lets his arm slip around Hyungwon’s waist, squeezing at his side. Pulling him closer.

“Do you think Hyunwoo would mind? Me stealing his idea?” Kihyun asks. 

“Not if you ask him for help.I’m sure he’d just be excited to have a chance to hang out with you.”

Kihyun hums, and the cool air around them turns a bit warmer. Hyungwon frowns. The air always got colder when Kihyun got excited or happy. Anything positive. A chill in the air around Kihyun meant he was pleased. A sudden warmth, on the other hand, meant that he was escaping deeper into his own mind. 

“What is it?” Hyungwon asks. 

Kihyun looks over at him and sighs. They stop walking. 

Hyungwon’s cottage is only a few feet away, and the lights of the lanterns there are just bright enough to light up the path and Kihyun’s face. 

“It is nice to know that I was missed, I guess,” Kihyun says. 

“Missed?”

“Before. When I avoided everyone and everything. I didn’t know that I’d be so missed by everyone.”

“Well, of course. You’re their friend.”

“I know. But now I just...I feel sorry.”

Hyungwon stares at him. At the soft edges of his face. At the way his eyes won’t meet his. 

“Sorry for being missed?” he asks. 

“Yes? I feel bad that they had to miss me at all. And I know that they said they did. That they always invited me to their festivals and their spectacles, but I always just convinced myself it was a courtesy. That it’d be better if I hadn’t gone.”

Hyungwon frowns and reaches out to touch Kihyun’s face. Kihyun blinks up at him, and he’s never seemed small before now. Kihyun had always held himself up with pride and dignity, and now he was slightly hunched, head tilted down, chest caving in. 

Hyungwon hated seeing him like that. 

“We all make mistakes, Kihyun. But you’re fixing it now. And it’s not like you’ve run out of time. You’ll have so many more seasons. Infinite seasons and years and time to be there. To not be missed.”

Kihyun smiles a bit, still small. “That is true. But still. There’s so much I missed. So much I didn’t know.”

“You’ll learn it. You’re already learning it.”

Kihyun huffs and closes his eyes. He reaches up and presses Hyungwon’s hand against his cheek.

“I could have met you ages ago. I should have met you ages ago,” Kihyun says softly.

Hyungwon smiles and traces his thumb over Kihyun’s warm cheek. 

“You met me when you needed to.”

Kihyun grins and opens his eyes. 

“I guess I just feel stupid. There’s so many things I wish I could have done. I wish I could have been with you when you first saw the sugar-white sand on the beach, or the first time you saw fireworks. I should have been there when you saw the leaves change for the first time, and when the first snow fell.”

“I think you find me more interesting than I actually am.”

Kihyun snorts and shakes his head. He pulls Hyungwon’s hand away from his face and holds it tight between them. 

“I guess there’s a reason for that,” he says.

“Oh? And what reason would that be?”

Kihyun’s cheeks go pink, and he bites his lip. Nervous like he was back when he asked him if they could go to the summer festival together. 

“Isn’t that just a symptom of being in love with someone? Finding everything they do infinitely fascinating?” Kihyun says softly. 

Hyungwon knows what magic, true magic, feels like. He’s felt it course through his very veins. He’s felt it bubble up in the palms of his hands and the tips of his fingers. He’s felt it make goosebumps scatter across his skin. 

And even in the peak of spring, he had never felt something as powerful as Kihyun saying those words to him. 

“Kihyun,” Hyungwon whispers out. 

Kihyun bites his lip and squeezes Hyungwon’s hands tighter in his. 

“I love you, Hyungwon.”

Hyungwon smiles and throws his arms around Kihyun. Pulls him close and holds him.

“I love you too.”

Kihyun sputters out a little laugh before he hugs Hyungwon back just as tightly. Hyungwon shivers at how cold the air gets, but that only makes him bury himself closer against him. 

“It’s a good thing the rose you gave me froze, or it’d be flattened by now,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon laughs and pulls away. They both glance down at it, and Hyungwon straightens it back out. 

“Beautiful,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon looks at him and finds him staring. 

They both go for the kiss at the same time and knock noses, and they both sputter out laughs as they cover their faces. 

“I am so sorry,” Kihyun says as he pinches the bridge of his nose. 

Hyungwon smiles and pulls his hand away from his face. He leans in and kisses Kihyun’s nose softly. 

“There. No healing magic better than kisses,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun smiles. “Oh, is that right?”

“So I’ve heard,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun giggles and holds Hyungwon’s face still as he leans in. Hyungwon closes his eyes and waits. 

Kihyun’s lips are still the softest things he’s ever felt. And now they feel even warmer against him. Even more like a magic that Hyungwon has yet to learn. He kisses him back and hopes that Kihyun feels it too. All the love that Hyungwon has tried to give him before and wants to keep giving him. 

Kihyun pulls away just to breathe before he’s pressing more and more kisses to Hyungwon’s lips, and Hyungwon giggles, just being peppered with his love.

“I love you. I love you so much,” Kihyun whispers against him. 

Hyungwon smiles and kisses him, soft as petals. 

“I love you too. Just as much.”

When Kihyun finally lets him go, neither of them can stop smiling or laughing. Kihyun kisses him goodbye one last time before he finally heads back towards home, leaving Hyungwon to feel all his giddiness burst inside him like the fireworks in the sky. He can’t stop smiling as he walks inside his house and touches the frozen tulip on the table. The vase still hasn’t frosted over, though the air around it is a bit cold. 

Hyungwon shivers before he shrugs it off, starting to get ready for bed. He dreams about all the flowers he can make for Kihyun, and how they might look even brighter now that he knows an even stronger magic than before. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to go to the beach today? There's not many days of summer left, after all,” Kihyun asks as he puts his newest flower into a vase in the library. 

“I’m sure. It’s really hot today, and it feels good in here,” Hyungwon says. 

“Ah. Refreshing?” 

“Exactly.” Hyungwon walks up behind Kihyun and wraps his arms around him. Kihyun turns his head back to kiss Hyungwon’s cheek before he turns around in his arms to kiss him properly. 

Hyungwon smiles against him before he pulls away. 

“I made ice cream. I thought we could find somewhere outside to sit and eat some?” Kihyun says. 

“That sounds great.” 

Kihyun smiles and takes his hand to lead him back out of the bright library. They walk through the winter palace, and Hyungwon notices that it seems brighter than before. The sun shines through like the palace is made of glass instead of ice, refracting rainbows across the floors and walls. 

“Do you always make it brighter for the summer?” Hyungwon asks. 

“Brighter?”

“The palace.”

“Oh! No, but I thought I’d try something new this summer. I like it, honestly. It should be more colorful in here to match all the flowers you’re putting in here.”

“You mean in the library.”

“Well, the library is getting pretty full now. I thought soon we could move out of there. Maybe into the halls?”

Hyungwon looks around at the ice, the glass, and the rainbows cracking across the palace. All the space for all kinds of flowers. There could be so much color, and Hyungwon smiles at the thought that Kihyun was trusting him enough to do that. 

“I think there could be a lot of flowers here,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun smiles back at him. “I’m glad you agree.”

They only spend a moment in the kitchen as Kihyun pulls out a little bucket of ice cream from the ice box and scoops some of it out into two bowls with spoons. Hyungwon takes one of the bowls and follows him out into the gardens.

The gardens, on the other hand, are not nearly as colorful as the inside of the palace. All around them, Hyungwon can only see dead grass and a few weeds, and he frowns as he sits down next to Kihyun on the steps that lead from the palace down to the gardens. The sun is warm as it beats down on them, but it seems desolate there despite the heat.

“I know the garden needs some work, but I thought you’d be too weak to try to help me fix it unless it was spring,” Kihyun says. 

“I might be too weak to fix it all at once right now, but it’s not like I’m powerless. I just would have to start small. Work on a patch here and there.”

Kihyun looks at him with big eyes. 

“Really?”

Hyungwon nods and takes a bite of ice cream. It's sweet, and he moans at how good it tastes. Kihyun grins. 

“Good?” He asks. 

“Very.”

“It's just vanilla. Next time I'll make chocolate too.”

“That'd be great. But yes, I can work with this. Might even have it ready by the time next spring rolls around,” Hyungwon says. 

“And I can try to help you. At least find some winter flowers to adorn this with.”

“That would work. I can even start today.” Hyungwon looks down at the area next to the steps. He can just imagine something bright like marigolds lining it. It would certainly bring some life to the barren gardens. 

“Only if you want. You know I don't like making you work,” Kihyun says. 

“It isn't work to garden,” Hyungwon says. Kihyun laughs a bit. 

“I forget sometimes how much you love it.”

“I do. I've worked hard on my garden and keeping it, and just the idea of having a whole new garden to work on is making me excited.”

“It’s all yours then. Do whatever you want with it,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon smiles and keeps eating his ice cream. Kihyun scoots closer to him and eats his too. And maybe the air feels a bit cold around him, but it feels refreshing under the hot summer sun. 

Every day they spend together feels like another blooming thing taking root inside Hyungwon’s chest. His heart is the beginnings of a garden, a few happy blooms here and there, and every touch, every kiss, every little word feels like Kihyun tending to that garden. 

Marigolds, Hyungwon thinks, would be perfect for the garden around them. Passion and color. 

When Hyungwon finishes his ice cream, he sets off to start his work. He sits down on the brittle grass next to the steps, and Kihyun watches him from a seat on them. 

Hyungwon shoots him a smile as he makes marigolds bloom from the ground, a bright yellow burst in the land of gray grass. Kihyun’s eyes light up as he looks at them, but he’s careful not to get too close and freeze them. 

Maybe it's Kihyun’s loving gaze that makes Hyungwon make more than he probably should. He adds a whole row next to the steps before going to the other side and adding a row there. 

The first flower had been nothing. An easy little pull and it was bright and blooming and beautiful. 

But the last flower took more effort than Hyungwon cared to admit. To ever admit. To even show Kihyun. It comes out a bit small, but still bright. Hyungwon grits his teeth and pulls on it more until it's as big as the others, and he feels drained. He sighs and flops back on the ground, pressing his thumbs against his palms to soothe the ache in them. 

Kihyun laughs a bit and goes to flop down on the ground next to him. 

“Too much?” Kihyun asks. 

“No,” Hyungwon says with a pout, still staring up at his hands. Kihyun reaches up and takes his hands before pulling it to his lips to kiss the back of it. 

“Do you normally get that tired when it's not spring?” Kihyun asks. 

Hyungwon hums. He doesn't ever remember getting this fatigued making two rows of flowers before, but using a lot of magic always made him tired outside of spring, and he used a lot of magic to make the marigolds so bright. 

“They’re beautiful. Thank you,” Kihyun says. 

“Of course. Thank you for basically giving me your garden,” Hyungwon says. 

They lay there for a while, staring up at the blue, cloudless sky, holding hands. 

“At the risk of sounding redundant, the autumn festival is in a few weeks,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon smiles and turns toward him, throwing an arm over him. 

“Are you asking to go together?” Hyungwon asks. 

Kihyun grins and turns to look at him, and Hyungwon wonders if he’ll ever get used to being so close to him. 

“Yes? It should be fun,” Kihyun says. 

“Of course I'll go with you. You don't have to ask,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun smiles and turns fully toward him so they're facing each other. 

“I love you,” Kihyun says. 

“I love you too,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun smiles and reaches up to touch his face. He traces his thumb against Hyungwon’s cheek and just takes him in. 

“What?” Hyungwon asks. 

“Just. You,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon laughs a bit, and Kihyun’s face scrunches up with his smile before he leans in and kisses him.

Hyungwon melts as he pulls Kihyun closer, and Kihyun moans against him as he rolls on top of him to kiss him deeper. Hyungwon wraps his arms around Kihyun's shoulders and kisses him back. 

Goosebumps break over his skin, and a shiver rolls down his spine, and Hyungwon never thought he could be so cool under the heat of the summer sun. 

Kihyun moves to press kisses to his jaw and his neck, and Hyungwon leans his head back to catch his breath. He stares up at the sky and lets Kihyun’s lips trace up his throat and against his jaw before starting the pattern again. 

When Hyungwon shivers again, he doesn't even feel the cold anymore. He just pulls Kihyun back up to kiss him again. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!!


	3. Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fall chill in the air is noticeable. At the ends of summer, it was only noticeable in the night breeze, but now it was the air itself. A chill that might lighten as the day went on but never went away. Would only get colder with time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, but here it is!

Hyungwon yawns as he gets up to check on the boiling pot in the fireplace. He had started the potion last night, so that it would be ready early on the first day of fall. He puts on a thick glove before he takes the top off the pot and peers inside. 

The liquid has gone from a muddy red to a nice shade of orange, and he yawns again as he drops the lid back on before he pulls the pot off the fire. He grits his teeth against the strain in his knuckles, both from the weight of it and from the magic he has to use to help him lift it. 

The pot gets dropped onto the nearest table to cool off as he gets ready for the day, opening up the windows and getting dressed and making himself some tea. He keeps opening and closing his hands as he goes, trying to get the strange leftover ache of using magic out of them before he has to do another spell. 

The room is getting brighter, and Hyungwon peeks outside to see the sun has finally fully risen above the horizon. He hurries back over to the cooled pot and takes the lid off of it again. 

Potions are fine and good, but useless unless activated with a proper spell. Hyungwon stands over the table and closes his eyes, holding his hands over the pot. 

“Fortify my garden against the decay of fall and winter. Let my plants stay alive. Let my plants stay bloomed. Let my plants root deep and survive,” he says, clearly, confidently. It’s a spell he knows well by now, having done it every year when the first day of fall comes. He feels the tingle in his hands as he repeats the spell two more times, and he opens his eyes to look down at the liquid inside the pot. 

The orange had a shimmer to it now, successfully activated and finished. Hyungwon smiles at it as he drops his hands and sits down, taking a deep breath and rolling out his wrists again. 

At least he wouldn't have to use much more magic today. The fatigue of it was already getting to him, and it was barely past sunrise. 

Hyungwon knows it’s strange. At first, he had chalked it up to summer hitting him a bit harder than usual, but he had thought he'd adjust as time went on. 

Summer came and went. 

But there he was, still rubbing out the ache in his wrists after doing a fairly simple spell. A powerful spell, but a simple one nonetheless. 

Hyungwon sighs once his hands feel better again, and he gets up and picks up the pot and a metal spoon before he heads outside to his gardens. 

The fall chill in the air is noticeable. At the ends of summer, it was only noticeable in the night breeze, but now it was the air itself. A chill that might lighten as the day went on but never went away. Would only get colder with time. 

Hyungwon grins to himself as he starts walking his gardens, carefully ladling out the potion onto his flowers. The colder it got, the closer winter was, and for the first time in his life, he was excited for winter.

“Good morning, Hyungwon!” 

Hyungwon turns towards his gate to see Jooheon standing there, hair a bright orange now to represent the new season he was presiding over. 

“Good morning! Happy first day of fall!” Hyungwon calls back as he sprinkles more of the potion out. 

“Do you need some help?” Jooheon calls. 

Hyungwon smiles back at him. “Don't you have to go wake up Changkyun?”

Jooheon laughs a bit as he walks into the garden. The flowers still turn to him like he’s the sun even if he isn't acting as the God of Spring right then. 

“This will only take a few minutes,” Jooheon says as he takes the pot from Hyungwon. 

Secretly, Hyungwon is relieved to have the pot taken from him. He shakes his hand out before he dips the spoon back in and pours it over the next row. 

“Are you coming to the festival later?” Jooheon asks.

“I am,” Hyungwon says. 

“Is Kihyun coming too?”

Hyungwon nods. Moves down a row and pours the potion on it. 

“He wouldn't miss it for the world,” Hyungwon says. 

Jooheon smiles. “You have no idea how happy me and Hyunwoo are to see him out of his palace.”

“He’s happy about it too.”

“I just...I guess I wanted to thank you for that. For finding a way to get him out of there. For making him stop seeing himself as some strange other.”

Hyungwon smiles. “You don't need to thank me for that. He saw it for himself once he came to the spring festival.”

“Well, either way. You got him out.” Jooheon glances around the garden as he follows after Hyungwon with the pot. 

“Are you sure you don't just want me to bless them? They'd stay like this forever,” Jooheon offers. 

“That's exactly why I don't want you to. I like having a living garden. It's a challenge to keep them alive and growing, but then you'll be surprised sometimes by bigger blooms or sometimes hybrid flowers growing that you didn't even plan for. If they're all immortal, there isn't any chance for those things,” Hyungwon says. 

“Ah, I see.”

“And of course some flowers will die, but that's just...life. But if they die, they usually let something else bloom in their place, and then there's a brand new chance for something else.” Hyungwon shrugs. “I just like them this way.”

“Even if you have to get up at dawn on the first day of fall every year?”

“Even if I have to get up at dawn on the first day of fall,” Hyungwon says with a grin. They've made it all the way around his cottage, and he only has a few rows left to pour potion over. 

“Did you not sleep well last night?” Jooheon asks. 

Hyungwon blinks at him. 

“I slept fine. Why?” Hyungwon asks. 

Jooheon blinks at him, his eyes looking him over as his lips flatten a bit. 

“I don't know, I guess. You just seem...tired. Like you've barely slept at all.”

Hyungwon thinks of the ache in his fingers. 

“Oh, maybe it's just the spell. I have to use a lot of magic to make this potion, and you know how hard it is for us when we’re out of season.”

Jooheon hums, but he doesn't seem satisfied with that answer. Hyungwon uses every last drop of his potion before taking the much lighter pot from Jooheon again. 

“I should get going now, but will you bring me some of your sachets of tea later? I've run out recently, and I've really been craving it,” Jooheon asks. 

“Of course. I'll see you at the festival?” Hyungwon asks. 

Jooheon smiles and nods before he hugs Hyungwon, pressing his hands hard against his back. Hyungwon frowns and hugs him back as he feels Jooheon’s magic flow around him. 

When Jooheon pulls away, Hyungwon no longer aches. 

“See you! Hopefully you'll feel less tired now!” Jooheon says. 

Hyungwon smiles. “Thank you! See you!” 

Jooheon grins before he hurries off and down the path, heading for Changkyun’s house. Hyungwon sighs and thinks of the birdbath in the backyard for a moment before thinking better of it. 

He shouldn't ask questions he doesn't want the answers to, after all. 

Kihyun pulls him into his arms as soon as Hyungwon gets close, and Hyungwon can't help but giggle as he hugs him back. 

“Happy first day of fall,” Kihyun says before he pecks Hyungwon’s cheek. 

“Happy first day of fall,” Hyungwon says back. He leans in and kisses him, and when he pulls away they both smile brighter before leaning in to kiss each other again. This time the kiss lingers a bit longer before Hyungwon pulls away and clears his throat. 

“I have a gift for you,” Hyungwon says. 

“A gift?” Kihyun asks. 

It's endearing how he always acts surprised. As if Hyungwon didn't gift him flowers every single day. Maybe it's so he doesn't make Hyungwon feel like he's expecting it. Hyungwon likes that, honestly. 

“Yes. Here,” Hyungwon says, pulling the pink aster out of his pocket and holding it out to him. He hadn’t bothered with sprucing it up any. He just went to the garden and picked the prettiest flower he found. 

“Oh, it’s beautiful,” Kihyun says as he takes the flower in his hand, making it frost over in an instant. Hyungwon smiles as Kihyun holds it in both his hands, admiring it carefully. 

“It’s just something I found in the garden. I don’t think I could make you anything nice enough after all the magic I spent keeping my garden safe,” Hyungwon says. 

“Everything in your garden is wonderful though. Anything from your garden is a welcome gift.”

Hyungwon smiles and steps closer to kiss Kihyun again, and Kihyun makes a little surprised noise before kissing him back. He smiles before he pulls away, already grabbing Hyungwon’s hand to pull him after him toward the library to add it to the collection. 

The entire library is filled up already, but Kihyun seems to have a spot in mind as he heads straight to a table with a half-full vase. Hyungwon walks around as he arranges the flowers as he wishes, walking to the back of the library to look out at the gardens. 

It isn’t much just yet, but Hyungwon thinks it’ll come along. He’s thinking of taking some of his winter blooms from his garden and replanting them there in the back, just to help it come together. 

“Alright, are you ready?” Kihyun asks, pulling Hyungwon out of his thoughts. He turns around and walks back to his side and takes his hand. 

“Ready,” Hyungwon says.

Kihyun smiles, and the room gets colder, but Hyungwon’s hand is warm, and that’s all that matters. 

The walk from the Winter Palace to the town square is familiar by now, and Kihyun’s presence next to him feels familiar now too. The chill in the air is something that used to send Hyungwon running inside for warm tea and a cozy spot near the fire to stay as far away from cold as he could. Now he was used to a slight chill because Kihyun always had one around him. He found it comforting now. 

Even if he does pull his jacket closer and lean against Kihyun as they walk to share his warmth.

“I saw Jooheon this morning. He seems to be excited,” Hyungwon says. 

“I don’t know how he has enough energy for two seasons, honestly. Taking care of winter is exhausting, and I like having the rest of the year to relax.”

“Is that why you like staying at home so much?”

Kihyun hums. “Partially. But I think, if I was Jooheon, I’d have preferred my seasons to at least be right after the other.”

“Ah, one on and one off is a bit rough,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun chuckles as they walk up to the square’s entrance. The smell of cinnamon and apples is strong as they walk closer, and Hyungwon takes a deep breath, smiling. 

“Oh, wow, it smells amazing,” Kihyun says. 

“You’ve never been before have you?” 

“Unfortunately no.”

“Well, wait until you taste everything Jooheon and Changkyun prepare for us.”

“Taste?”

The banners and garlands around the square are all orange and yellow, leaves strung together on twine and cinnamon brooms hanging above every door. Kihyun looks around, and Hyungwon finds it endearing how awestruck he always is as he looks around. How handsome he looks with his face all round and amazed as he looks around. And then he sees Kihyun’s eyes fall on the giant booth in the center of the square, covered in pastries of all kinds.

“Oh. I see,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon snorts and tugs him towards the booth. 

“Come on. After we eat, I want to go see the orchards,” Hyungwon says. 

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Kihyun says, easily following him through the crowd. 

They weave through the people, Hyungwon reaching to grab the first two things he can off the table and then someone taps the back of his hand. 

“Hey--” Hyungwon complains, looking up. Minhyuk grins at him. 

“Go find a seat, I’m grabbing stuff for all of us,” Minhyuk says.

“All of us?” Kihyun asks. 

“They’re by the temple,” Minhyuk says.

“Got it. See you in a second,” Hyungwon calls as he is already turning around to push Kihyun back in the direction they came from. 

“You seem so flustered,” Kihyun says, kissing his cheek before he turns around. 

“Getting some of the food feels like a battlefield sometimes,” Hyungwon replies. He finds his hands pressing against Kihyun’s shoulders as he presses close up behind him. 

“I can see that,” Kihyun says as he glances around at the crowd. As soon as they break through the close radius of the booth, the crowd thins, and Hyungwon reaches back down to grab onto his hands as Kihyun starts leading him toward the temple instead.

“I hope Minhyuk gets enough of...whatever smells like that,” Kihyun says. 

“He will. There’s always plenty. Besides, everything smells like that,” Hyungwon says. 

It’s quiet as they walk towards the emptier area of the temple. Hyungwon smiles as he sees Hoseok lounging back against Hyunwoo’s legs on the temple steps, both of them grinning at Changkyun as he stands in front of them, obviously explaining something. Hoseok spots them first and sits up, waving. 

“Hey guys!” 

“Hello!” Kihyun calls back. His steps hurry a bit as they walk towards them, and Hyungwon stifles a laugh at how excited his lover suddenly is.

Changkyun whirls around, and he smiles bright. He always seems to have a glow about him in the months of autumn. The soft glow of a full moon seems to surround his face, a soft blush on his cheeks like only the chill in the air could make them pink. 

“Happy first day of fall,” Hyungwon says as he walks up to give him a hug. Changkyun hugs him back and hums. 

“Happy first day of fall! Isn’t it lovely?” he says. 

Kihyun snorts. “You seem excited.”

“Oh, don’t mind him. He always gets like this during the fall,” Hoseok says. 

“It’s my season! I deserve to be excited,” Changkyun says.

“Of course you do. You all do,” Hyunwoo says. 

“Where is Jooheon?” Kihyun asks. 

“Oh, yeah, I brought him some tea,” Hyungwon says, reaching into his bag.

“He should be leaving the temple soon,” Changkyun says.

As if he was called, the temple doors open, and Jooheon almost seems to float down the stairs before he plops down next to Hyunwoo. His orange hair is now adorned with a crown of fallen leaves that seem to have a gold interlaid in it here and there, peeking through the gaps. 

“Happy first day of fall,” Kihyun says.

“Yes, happy first day, here’s your tea,” Hyungwon says, holding out a little drawstring bag for him.

Jooheon smiles at them, happily taking the bag from him and dropping it somewhere in his robes for later. “Thank you! Happy first day of fall. Did you have some of the food?”

“Not yet. I was about to grab us some, but Minhyuk stopped me, saying he was grabbing some for all of us,” Hyungwon says. 

“I hope he gets here soon,” Changkyun says, peeking around them to look back towards the center of the square. 

“Miss him already?” Hoseok asks, reaching out to poke at him.

Changkyun giggles and waves him away. 

“Am I not allowed? All of you have your boyfriends here,” he says.

“You know he would be here right now if he was not fighting to grab the very best ones for you,” Hyungwon says. 

Changkyun only seems to smile bigger at that before turning back to where Hoseok, Hyunwoo, and Jooheon are sitting. 

“Anyway, like I was saying, I never feel like I decorate enough, but I never know what else to do other than the leaves and the orchard,” he says. 

“I love the way you decorate,” Jooheon says instantly. 

“I actually like that it stays pretty consistent every year,” Hyunwoo adds. 

“Fall and winter are nice that way,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon squeezes his hand when all the attention turns to him. Even after two seasons of him being around, everyone always seemed surprised whenever he actually spoke up. 

“You think so?” Changkyun asks.

“Yes. Spring and summer are the exciting seasons. Seasons of new growth and change and potential. And fall changes things of course, but it changes the same way every year. It’s like...how the world rests after so much happening. It gives back before going dormant in winter,” Kihyun says. 

Everyone is quiet again. Hyungwon just smiles as he wraps an arm around Kihyun and kisses his temple. 

“That’s actually really beautiful when you think of it that way,” Changkyun says. 

“It is,” Hyunwoo says. 

Kihyun grins. “Well, thanks, I’ve had thousands of years to come up with it.”

Hyungwon bites his lip as everyone starts to laugh a bit, and he’s glad when he feels some sort of tension leave Kihyun. Squeezing him closer, Hyungwon feels the air get colder, and it makes everything better, feeling Kihyun’s joy in the very air around them. 

“Oh, finally,” Jooheon says. 

They whip around to see Minhyuk jogging up with a very large bag and a grin on his face. Changkyun smiles and runs over to him, grabbing part of the bag before he kisses Minhyuk.

“We are never going to eat, are we?” Hoseok grumbles.

“Hush,” Jooheon says, but he laughs a bit, leaning down to kiss Hoseok’s cheek. Hoseok just smiles and turns to give him a kiss. 

“Do we look that clingy?” Kihyun asks softly. 

Hyungwon looks down at how he’s whole-body leaning against Kihyun with his arm around his shoulders before looking back up at Kihyun’s face. 

“No, not at all,” Hyungwon says seriously. 

Kihyun laughs and leans his head against Hyungwon’s shoulder. “Thought not.”

“When did you two get so grossly clingy?” Minhyuk says as he walks up, bumping lightly into Kihyun’s shoulder before putting the bag down between all of them. Changkyun squats down to start giving out pastries, handing Hyungwon and Kihyun an apple turnover each. 

“Kihyun, I don’t know what your favorite is yet, but these are Hyungwon’s so start there,” Changkyun says. 

“These are the best,” Hyungwon says before taking a bite. He closes his eyes and moans at the taste of cooked apples and cinnamon and fall wrapped up into a single bite. 

“This is delicious,” Kihyun says. 

“I love these cinnamon rolls,” Jooheon says. Hyungwon opens his eyes to see everyone digging into their respective pastries. Turnovers and tiny pies and muffins and cinnamon rolls the size of Changkyun’s face. 

Hyungwon and Kihyun end up sitting on the ground in front of the steps, leaning against each other and eating in silence as they watch the rest of their friends debate over which one was the best while Changkyun just gloats over how they can only enjoy them during his season. 

It’s nice, the seven of them having a moment to themselves. No crowds. No worries. It’s a rare thing on the day of a festival. But fall has always been quiet like that. It doesn’t spring up from the ground in a rush like spring, and it doesn’t coat the world in heat like the summer. It comes one day on the breeze and the greens of the world fade into the bright colors of decay, the beginning of renewal. And maybe the smells and the flavors and the chill felt loud, but fall itself is the moment before tipping over. A soft little pause in the unending cycle. 

Hyungwon always thought that Changkyun fit the fall well. His presence is always known and appreciated, but he had a quiet sense of calm around him at all times that fit his season. 

“Hey, maybe we should save some for the orchard,” Changkyun says as Minhyuk takes his third pastry.

“That’s a good idea! It’ll be a good lunch,” Jooheon says. 

“Here, everyone split up the rest,” Changkyun says. 

Hyungwon reaches to take one more apple turnover and two of the pumpkin muffins that Kihyun seems fond of, wrapping them in a cloth before putting them in his bag. 

“Are the orchards big?” Kihyun asks. 

“You have no idea,” Minhyuk says. 

“I can’t wait to see them,” Kihyun says. 

Jooheon grins. “They’re my pride and joy.” Then Jooheon blinks and looks at Hyungwon with big eyes. “I mean, spring is also my pride and joy, of course!” 

Hyungwon smiles and waves at him. “It’s okay, Jooheon. I get it. Fall was always your season, and spring was something you acquired later. The orchards are definitely amazing.”

Jooheon smiles again, a bit timid. “Thanks. I worked hard on them.”

“They are so beautiful,” Hyunwoo says.

“Ooh, Kihyun, just wait! There’s so many colors and the fruit is so ripe and good,” Hoseok says. 

“You’re just always amazed at everything either of them do,” Changkyun jokes. 

Hoseok huffs and pushes himself up to mess with Changkyun’s hair. Changkyun laughs and waves him off before grabbing onto his arm to help him up. 

“Well, I’m sorry my boyfriends can create amazing things, and I like for their hard work to be appreciated,” Hoseok says, but he’s grinning. 

Soon the seven of them are heading past the temple in the opposite direction of the beach. It is quite a walk out, but Kihyun gasps when he sees the lines and lines of trees and the rows and rows of pumpkins held in by a wooden fence that stretched out as far as the eye could see. 

“I didn’t expect it to be...so extensive,” Kihyun says. 

“I have a favorite spot,” Hyungwon whispers in his ear.

Kihyun raises a brow at him and squeezes his hand. 

“Now that I definitely have to see,” he whispers back.

Hyungwon pulls Kihyun around behind their friends where Jooheon is explaining how it’s the same as always except a bit bigger. Hyungwon knows it’s impossible to get lost in the orchard. If you follow a line, it can only take you one of four directions, and once you get to a fence, they all point back towards the entrance. Jooheon never wanted anyone to feel lost no matter how big the orchard got. 

But Hyungwon knew what he was looking for by following the colors of the apples on the trees. Jooheon liked things neat and organized. Everything in its place. And that makes it easy for things like his favorite spot to happen. 

They take hurried little steps through the trees, flying past flashes of the red apples that are ripe for the picking in the trees until the color shifts, and then Hyungwon stops, having to tug on Kihyun’s hand to keep him from hurrying right past. 

“Here?” Kihyun asks.

“Right here,” Hyungwon replies, pointing up. 

They’re standing at what Jooheon calls a corner. Four different types of apples, red, pink, yellow, and green growing from the four trees closest to them. The light shines down through the leaves, and creates arcs of shadows under them, shade that Hyungwon has spent quite a few hours in the fall sitting in. 

“Oh, you do have an eye for beautiful things,” Kihyun says as he looks around.

Hyungwon giggles a bit and looks at him, tugging on Kihyun’s arm. “It seems that I do.”

Kihyun looks at him, squinting a bit. Hyungwon tilts his head and grins. 

“What?” Hyungwon asks, voice just a bit sing-songy.

“Were...were you talking about me?” Kihyun asks.

“Hm?” Hyungwon teases, tugging on his arm again.

Kihyun scoffs with a smile on his face. “And they called me cheesy.”

“And I said I liked it.”

Hyungwon kisses his cheek before reaching up to twist an apple from a tree. It’s bright green and shiny and perfect as he holds it up to Kihyun’s mouth. Kihyun glances at it before taking a bite. Hyungwon’s chest feels light as he watches him, smile growing as Kihyun’s eyes widen.

“This is the best apple I’ve ever had,” Kihyun says after he swallows.

Hyungwon laughs and lets Kihyun take the apple from him before picking his own apple before sitting down under the tree, leaning back against the trunk. 

“Haven’t you had one?” he asks.

“I think once a fall, Minhyuk has brought me some, but they’ve never tasted this fresh.”

"Ah, I see. I'm glad you think it's so delicious, though," Hyungwon says.

Kihyun hums and takes another bite before he sinks down on the ground next to Hyungwon. He leans his head on his shoulder and chews thoughtfully.

"It really is pretty here," Kihyun says after he swallows.

Hyungwon nods and eats his apple. The chilly breeze sweeps through the leaves, making a soft rush of noise. It carries the distant smell of apples and cinnamon on it, more apple than cinnamon, and the soft sound of their friend's laughter. Everyone scatters in the orchard, finding a shady spot to sit and eat apples and just be together.

It's quiet where summer was loud. The sound of waves crashing and the hot sand beneath them and the booming fireworks shifted so suddenly into a cool soft wind and crunchy grass and the sound of a fire crackling in the distance.

And it's quiet right then, under the apple tree with the God of Winter leaning against him like he was the most comfortable place to be. Kihyun shifts a bit, nuzzling closer to peck a kiss at his neck, and Hyungwon giggles and closes his eyes, trying to give him the space to do that.

"I love you," Kihyun whispers, and it sounds like the wind telling him a secret.

"I love you too," Hyungwon says.

He leans his head against Kihyun's head and closes his eyes, finding his hands somewhere in his lap to tangle their fingers together, seeking their familiar warmth.

Hyungwon sighs out, and he swears his breath becomes steam, but maybe it's just a trick of the imagination.

Hyungwon runs his finger softly over the petals of the red cosmos as he walks around the back of the winter palace. The sun hasn’t even risen, and he yawns, sleep still clinging to him. It’s cold in the mornings. Not just cool, but cold. Hyungwon’s teeth clack together as he pulls his scarf up around his nose, and the grass is wet, not from dew but from frost. 

“Hyungwon?” 

Hyungwon smiles as soon as he hears Kihyun calling for him, and he hurries his steps toward the sound in the dark. He sees him all at once and hurries straight into his waiting arms, hugging him close. 

“There you are,” Kihyun says as he hugs him back. 

“Why did I have to meet you so early?” Hyungwon complains softly. 

Kihyun laughs and pulls away to kiss Hyungwon’s cold nose. 

“Because, I realized we’ve seen a lot of sunsets, but we haven’t seen a single sunrise together,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon smiles and tugs his scarf down a bit to give Kihyun a quick peck on the lips. 

“Alright. Let’s go watch the sunrise then,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun takes his hand, and the flower in it turns to ice, but neither of them really react. They just hold it between their hands as they walk to the back steps of the winter palace where there are a few candles set out. 

“Oh. Romantic,” Hyungwon jokes. 

Kihyun laughs a bit. 

“You’re the one that brings me flowers every time you see me.” Kihyun pulls the frozen cosmos up to look at it and smiles. “Thank you, by the way. I love it every single time.”

Hyungwon giggles and kisses his cheek before he goes to sit down on the steps. They’re covered in a sheen of frost too, but Kihyun was kind enough to set out a blanket on them for them to sit. Kihyun smiles and sits on the step right behind him, pulling him back against him. Hyungwon leans back, the back of his head leaned back against Kihyun’s chest. Kihyun kisses the side of his head as he wraps his arms around him.

“I didn’t really think about it before, but the back of your palace faces exactly east,” Hyungwon says. 

“Yes. I wanted to be able to see the sunrise from one side of my home and the sunset from the other.”

“Is that why you made that room at the top of the tower? The one that’s all windows?”

“Yes. Well, to be able to see everything, I guess. But the sunsets are particularly nice there.”

Hyungwon smiles, remembering the times in the summer when the beach felt too crowded, and they would instead go to watch the sunset from up there.

“It was nice. Although I don’t know why we can’t watch the sunrise from up there.”

Kihyun hums and holds him tighter. 

“Look around. The frost on the grass. The cold air. Our breaths becoming fog,” Kihyun says softly.

Hyungwon does. The grass sparkles a bit even in the gray hours of the morning. The cold used to annoy Hyungwon in the years past, but not anymore. Not with Kihyun’s arms around him. 

“It’s not the same when you’re inside. It’s still beautiful, of course, and maybe I’m biased because I like the cold, but I just...wanted to experience this with you,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon bites his lip and leans closer to Kihyun, and Kihyun pulls him closer too, curling around him and pressing kisses to his head. 

“I love you,” Hyungwon says softly.

“I love you too,” Kihyun says. 

Kihyun puts the flower down gently on the blanket before wrapping his arms around him again. They settle into a comfortable quiet, and Hyungwon’s nose is still cold, but he feels warm from the inside out, so he doesn’t mind. He settles back against Kihyun and watches. 

The gray of the morning changes into a purple then a pink as the sun starts to peek its head up past the horizon. Hyungwon looks around. The frost on the grass sparkles more. The cold stays, but shifts a bit, seemingly scattering at the light. And Hyungwon has never thought the frost looked beautiful until right then. 

The pink eventually turns to blue, but Hyungwon isn’t watching the sun climb up the sky then. He’s turned around and kissing Kihyun and finding that this is another reason to love the chill. The cold. How close Kihyun holds him because of it. 

“I love you. I love you so much,” Hyungwon says when he pulls away to breathe. 

“I love you too,” Kihyun says. He touches Hyungwon’s chin and kisses his lips softly. “But you kind of missed the sunrise.”

Hyungwon snorts and presses his forehead against Kihyun’s collarbone. 

“I saw the best part. The purple and pink part. I saw the whole sun come up,” Hyungwon says. 

“Oh, only the pink and purple part is good?” 

“No, it’s just the best part. Then it stops being a sunrise and is just the day.”

“Hm. Spend the day with me?” Kihyun asks. 

Smiling, Hyungwon looks up at him, nodding. “Of course.”

Kihyun grins and kisses him again, and then Hyungwon remembers, groaning and pulling away. 

“Sorry. I can’t today,” he says. 

“Oh? Why not?” Kihyun asks. 

“I have a few things I need to work on, and I have to be at home,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun nods. “Well, if you let me be there, we can still spend the day together?”

Hyungwon perks up instantly. “Really? You don’t think you’ll get bored?”

“Love, you have never once bored me,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon smiles and kisses him again. 

“Well, today I’m making sachets of tea in exchange for a potion from Changkyun, so it might be more boring than usual.”

“Well, it’ll be interesting enough to make it past the front gate,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon pouts. “Oh.”

Kihyun laughs and pulls Hyungwon close into his arms again. 

“No, don’t pout. We were always going out, or I was bringing you here. It just never came up.”

“It isn’t...as grand as the winter palace,” Hyungwon says. 

“Your garden is probably grander than anything here,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon tilts his head and pulls away from him, as he starts to laugh. 

“You should be the God of Flattery instead of the God of Winter. It comes to you so naturally.”

Kihyun laughs and leans back on his elbows. 

“It’s not flattery if it’s true,” he says.

“It’s just a garden. This is like. A masterpiece.”

“Your garden is a masterpiece too.”

“Hm. Maybe yours will be too come spring.”

Hyungwon stands up, stretching some. Kihyun gets up after him. 

“So? Do you mind me coming over?” Kihyun asks. 

“Of course not. Not if you don’t mind sitting there watching me make tea,” Hyungwon says. 

“Of course not.”

Hyungwon smiles as Kihyun kisses him one last time before he picks up the cosmos and puts it in his pocket. They hold hands again as they walk back towards Hyungwon’s cottage, and Hyungwon can’t stop staring at the frost on the grass and thinking that it’s beautiful. 

“I thought you used magic for these?” Kihyun says. He sits across from Hyungwon, hands carefully placed in his lap as he watches Hyungwon carefully set up all the things he needs to make his tea. 

“Well, I guess I use a lot of magic to keep up my garden, but I don’t make these with magic. It took a lot of trial and error with the blends, but I like making them by hand. It’s fun and relaxing,” Hyungwon says. 

“I see. I’m afraid to touch anything.”

“It’s okay if you need to move things,” Hyungwon says. 

“I don’t want to freeze them,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon frowns and takes a pinch of black tea leaves before dropping it on the table in front of him. 

“See if you freeze that.”

Kihyun raises a brow before he reaches a finger down and brushes it over one of the tea leaves. They both stare at it as it stays unchanging. 

“Huh,” Kihyun says. 

“You know, for a God your powers are inconsistent,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun snorts and picks up the leaves before dropping them back into their bowl. 

“Well, you know. What chance does a flower have against the frost and snow?”

Hyungwon snorts. “And what chance does a tea leaf have?”

Kihyun grins and shrugs. “Power. Tea heals and energizes. It has a magic of its own. And I’m not saying flowers don’t. But I think...flowers fade faster.”

“Oh?” 

Kihyun licks his lips. “I think that no matter how strong something is, if I hold it in my hands for long enough it’ll freeze eventually. And I try my best to hold it back, but flowers just go the fastest.”

Hyungwon nods and grabs an empty sachet before taking his measuring spoon and starting to scoop tea into it. It’s almost automatic at this time. Three scoops of this to two scoops of that. Adding a few leaves of this or that depending on what Changkyun asked for. 

“Well, the freezing isn’t bad. And I mean, the flowers might have faded one day, but they never will because you touched them,” Hyungwon says.

“I know. You taught me that,” Kihyun says. Hyungwon looks up to see Kihyun smiling at him, and Hyungwon smiles back before he ties the sachet closed and puts it to the side. 

“How many are you making?” Kihyun asks.

“Changkyun asked for ten, but I’m making about thirty at least.”

“Thirty?”

“Well, honestly, Changkyun’s making me a potion that can only be made in the fall by him, and I know it takes a lot, so him only asking for ten is actually really low.”

“Ah, I see. So you’re gifting him more?” Kihyun asks. 

Hyungwon shrugs as he starts on the next one. “At least enough for him and Minhyuk for a few while. They don’t drink it as much in the fall because Changkyun likes to make apple cider.”

“Oh, that apple cider was delicious,” Kihyun says.

“It is!”

Kihyun goes quiet again as Hyungwon makes a few more sachets, letting him focus. Hyungwon can see him from the corner of his eye. How he looks around his little cottage curiously. How he smiles when he notices the ice tulip he gave him sitting in a vase on the window sill in the kitchen. Hyungwon wraps up his fourth one and looks up at him, toeing at him under the table to get his attention. Kihyun looks at him.

“What?” Hyungwon asks. 

“I like it here,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon grins. “It’s small, but it’s certainly enough.” He glances around his home. The bed in the corner under the window. The fireplace going across from it. The rug and the couch in front of that. Pressed flowers hanging in frames here and there between the shelves and shelves of spellbooks. His kitchen somewhere behind him, and door decorated with markings of protection, blessings over anyone who enters. 

Hyungwon remembers when it was only a pile of bricks with lush fertile soil around it and a forest nearby. But he had truly made it home. Had grown a garden that was his pride and joy. Had made everything a perfect and safe space for him. A sanctuary where he could always come to. 

“I think it’s very you. Everywhere I look, I see you in it,” Kihyun says. 

“That was the plan,” Hyungwon says before he starts making another sachet. 

“And you don’t even need a recipe for this,” Kihyun says. 

“Please, I’ve been making tea for centuries. I haven’t used recipes in a very long time.”

“Not even if you try something new?”

“I have better instincts than I think you’re giving me credit for,” Hyungwon jokes. 

Kihyun snorts, and Hyungwon feels him stretch out under the table to tangle their legs together. 

“No, I just like having lists and recipes and things just in case,” Kihyun says. 

“Oh, I see. Maybe I’m giving you too much credit.”

Kihyun laughs, and Hyungwon smiles and shivers at how the temperature drops.

“You know, it’s hard to run a whole season. I know you have it hard, but it isn’t easy to be the whole god of the season.”

Hyungwon hums and fixes up another sachet. “I know. I never thought it was easy. I mean, Jooheon runs around like a rabid dog all year between preparing for his seasons and actually making sure his seasons run well.”

“So it’s nice to have a list. Things to get done by certain points and things to check to make sure nothing slips my mind.”

“I understand that. This is just tea, though. And tea at this point is as second nature as making flowers.”

“Like this one?” Kihyun asks, patting his pocket for the cosmos from earlier. 

“Well, that one I got from the garden, so no. But most of the other ones I did make,” Hyungwon says. 

“Well, I like watching you work your craft.”

“My craft? Making sachets of tea?” Hyungwon asks.

“Do you not think it’s part of it?” Kihyun asks, and he’s so genuine, that Hyungwon feels his heart melt a bit. 

“I don’t use magic, so not really.”

Kihyun tilts his head before laughing a bit. 

“Your magic made everything on this table,” he says. 

Hyungwon glances over all the bowls filled with tea leaves and herbs and spices. The things he grows in his garden and harvests and grinds and dries it himself. 

“That is true,” Hyungwon says softly. 

“And figuring out recipes, knowing what you’re doing, caring about what you do. That’s a kind of magic too,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon licks his lips, looking down to keep making his sachets. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Kihyun lean a bit closer, a smile on his face. Hyungwon bites his lip to hide his own smile. 

“Besides, I think everything you do is magical,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon snorts. “You really do say the absolute lamest things sometimes.”

“It always makes you smile. Or laugh. Or blush.”

“Sounds like your own type of magic,” Hyungwon says, looking up at Kihyun through his lashes. 

Kihyun bites his lip, still grinning. 

“I sure hope so,” he says. 

Hyungwon giggles a bit, focusing back on his work. Kihyun leans back in his chair and hums a song, and it makes everything feel calm. Peaceful. 

When Hyungwon finishes, he and Kihyun make themselves lunch, and go out to sit in the garden to eat it. It’s sunny outside, the sun bright enough to bring a hint of warmth to the air, but it’s still cold enough to give Hyungwon an excuse to be glued to Kihyun’s side the entire time. 

They spend hours laying out together behind Hyungwon’s cottage, arms around each other, kissing whenever they could and always ending up giggling against each other. They watch the sunset, and when the night gets cold, they linger in Hyungwon’s doorway, smiling at each other. 

“I had a wonderful time,” Kihyun says.

“Me too,” Hyungwon says. He pulls on Kihyun’s fingers until Kihyun leans closer and kisses him. Hyungwon closes his eyes and kisses him back, tugging on his fingers until Kihyun pulls away, blinking at him. 

“Hyungwon…” Kihyun says softly. 

“I don’t want you to leave,” Hyungwon says at the same time. 

Kihyun licks his lips and looks at him. 

“If you want me to stay the night, I will,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon bites his lip and leans closer, shivering as the wind blows by and cuts right through his jacket. He presses his forehead against Kihyun’s and nods. 

“I do. You know, it’s kind of unfair that it’s been months and we’ve never…”

Kihyun smirks. “Never what?”

Hyungwon pulls away, tugging Kihyun back inside. 

“Shared a bed,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun laughs, and he’s so close. Hyungwon has goosebumps over his skin at the change in temperature, from the cold to the toasty warmth of his house. 

“If that’s what you want,” Kihyun says, leaning in to catch Hyungwon’s lips again. 

It’s warm. So warm despite how much Hyungwon keeps shivering. All he can think about is Kihyun’s lips against his and the way his thumbs keep rubbing against his palms. His bed has always been comfortable, but with Kihyun there with him, kissing him, being with him, loving him, somehow it’s even better. 

And when he wakes up in the morning, the sunlight streaming in, the fire still crackling, and Kihyun’s arms around him, he doesn’t think he’s ever had a more perfect morning. 

Changkyun and Minhyuk live in what essentially should be three different cottages cobbled together into one. Changkyun's workshop on one side, Minhyuk's on the other, and their shared bedroom in the middle. Hyungwon is leaning against the table in Changkyun's workshop, playing an easy game of checkers with Hoseok as Minhyuk hums an unfamiliar tune to accompany Changkyun's rushing around as he works on something.

"What kind of potion is this for?" Hoseok asks without looking up. He smiles before he jumps his red checker over Hyungwon's black one, swiping it up from the table with ease. Hyungwon frowns down the checkerboard before stealing one back.

"Oh, it's a surprise," Changkyun calls.

"A surprise. So it's not something Jooheon asked for," Hyungwon says idly.

The whole room fills with the smell of vanilla for a moment, and that makes both Hyungwon and Hoseok instantly look up.

"Are you....cooking?" Hoseok asks.

Changkyun lets out an impatient huff before he decides to ignore them.

"Vanilla isn't really what I would expect from your recipes," Minhyuk says.

"Hush," Changkyun grumbles.

Hyungwon laughs before looks back down at the checkerboard. He frowns when he notices at least two of his pieces are gone now.

"Excuse me, what happened here?" Hyungwon says, gesturing at it.

Hoseok shrugs. "Double-jumped."

"Double-jumped? Where was that even a possibility?" Hyungwon asks, incredulous.

Hoseok sighs and carefully puts his pieces back to show him his last move, and all Hyungwon can do is pout in response.

Minhyuk laughs and walks over to poke at Hyungwon's side.

"Listen, you never pay attention well enough for checkers. You know there's strategy involved right?" Minhyuk asks. Hyungwon groans and waves him away, not taking his eyes off the board.

"Of course I know that," he says.

"He's just been so preocccupied as of late, you know," Changkyun calls from over his boiling pot.

"Have not," Hyungwon says.

"Can you not handle being away from Kihyun for an afternoon?" Hoseok asks.

"Big words coming from a witch that everyone thinks is connected at the hip to his lovers," Hyungwon says before he finally slides one of his pieces off to the side.

Minhyuk snorts. "We all are, but it's fun with you because you never did it before, and now you're three seasons deep into being in love."

"It's cute, honestly," Hoseok adds.

Hyungwon licks his lips as Hoseok also makes a neutral move.

"Besides, I know checkers needs strategy. I have one," Hyungwon says, gesturing to the board again.

"Um, you do?" Minhyuk asks.

"Yes?"

It goes silent except for the boiling pot and the fireplace, and Hyungwon sighs.

"Look, I just won't let him king himself," Hyungwon says, pointing at all the pieces he has to defend his last row.

"Oh," Hoseok says.

"That is horrible and you know it," Minhyuk says.

Hyungwon shoves lightly at Minhyuk's stomach, and

Minhyuk laughs before hugging him. Grinning, Hyungwon moves a piece forward without thinking about it, only for Hoseok to quickly snatch it up.

"Wow," Minhyuk says.

"Hyungwon, can you come here and help me with this?" Changkyun calls.

"Sure. Don't mess with my board," Hyungwon says to Hoseok.

"Like I would need to," Hoseok bites back with a smile. Hyungwon smiles as he walks over to where Changkyun is stirring at his potion.

"What do you need?" Hyungwon asks.

"Can you make me a few sprigs of rosemary?" Changkyun asks.

Hyungwon's chest gets heavy. He’s avoided using magic lately, afraid of how weak he gets. Of how strange it feels. Like it’s fading. 

"You don't have any?" Hyungwon asks.

"No, I don't. And you make the best rosemary out of all of us," Changkyun says.

Hyungwon smiles through the dread filling him up.

"Yeah, sure. Just. Give me a moment. How many do you need?"

"About three?" Changkyun guesses.

Hyungwon nods and walks over to where Changkyun is sure to always keep a pot of fresh soil. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, pressing his hand into the dirt. He needed to be closer now. Closer to the source. He couldn't magic it up from a bit further away like before because it would make the strain in his knuckles stronger. More obvious.

He pulls his hand up in quick pull and summons up three sprigs at once, trying to hide how winded he feels from just that. He glances around and sees that no one seems to notice him, so he takes another deep breath to steady himself before breaking the sprigs off and walking back over to Changkyun.

"Here. Will these do?" Hyungwon asks.

"Yes, perfect. Did you only make these?" Changkyun asks as he brings them up to his nose to smell them before dropping them into the pot.

"Why? You need more?"

"No, I just was wondering. Sometimes you make us extras to keep for later," Changkyun says.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, no. But if you need more, I can make some," Hyungwon says. It isn't a lie. He could make more. He just doesn't want anyone to notice how sore his hands feel.

"No, it's fine. Thank you!" Changkyun says.

Hyungwon sighs and heads back to the table to sit down. He rubs his thumbs against his wrist under the table as he pretends to take the board in again.

"Whose turn was it now?" he asks.

"Yours," Hoseok says.

"Ah, okay."

Hyungwon opens and closes his hands one last time before he just moves a piece, not even thinking about it.

"What happened to your strategy?" Minhyuk asks, a laugh already on his voice. Hyungwon looks again and groans when he sees that he moved one of his center pieces off his last row.

"Well, what else could I do?" Hyungwon asks.

Hoseok shakes his head and moves his piece. "King me."

Hyungwon sighs and places a piece on top of his, and Hoseok beams.

"You really do suck at checkers," Minhyuk says.

"I know, I know," Hyungwon grumbles, cracking his knuckles under the table again.

The minutes pass. Hoseok wins the game. Changkyun stays over his pot, stirring and stirring. The ache in Hyungwon's hands lingers, holding onto him like how the chill clings to his skin.

"What's wrong?" Minhyuk asks.

"What?" Hyungwon asks, looking up with big eyes. But he finds Minhyuk looking past him to where Changkyun stood, hunched over his pot, no longer stirring it.

"Nothing," Changkyun says. His voice feels thick and heavy, and Minhyuk hops up, instantly going over to his side.

"Darling, what it is?" he asks, more gently this time.

"The potion needs a witch's tears, leave me alone," Changkyun says, shoving Minhyuk away from his side.

"Definitely not cooking then," Hoseok says with a disgusted frown. Hyungwon snorts and leans back as he starts stacking up all the black checker pieces up.

"At least I hope not," Hyungwon adds quietly. Hoseok laughs as Minhyuk walks over to sit next to them again and sighs.

"I don't know why you can't just tell us what you're making," Minhyuk calls.

"Hush, I'm trying to cry," Changkyun grumbles back.

"Why not just ask Hoseok to cry for you?" Minhyuk asks.

"Why me?" Hoseok asks, automatically defensive.

"Because puppies make you cry, Hoseok. Because the sight of a good sunset gets you teary-eyed. Because you're thinking about all of that right now, and I can see you tearing up," Minhyuk says.

Hoseok frowns. "Sunsets are emotional," he says softly.

Hyungwon laughs and pokes the back of Hoseok's hand gently.

"It's a compliment, Hoseok. You're less emotionally constipated than the rest of us," he says.

"Or maybe spending all that time with gods just softens you and makes you more sensitive," Minhyuk says.

"Now, that cannot be true. Hyungwon is the same as always and he spends all the time he can with Kihyun," Hoseok says.

"I also spent plenty of time with Hakyeon and Jooheon during spring, and that never affected me."

"Yes, but Hoseok lives with them. With two of them. That has to affect you somehow."

"Yes, he gets double the kisses and affection," Hyungwon says.

Hoseok beams. "I sure do."

Minhyuk scoffs. "Cute. But I was just saying."

"Can you guys please be quiet, I'm trying to concentrate here," Changkyun calls.

Hoseok bites his lip and looks down, and suddenly all Hyungwon wants to do is laugh. He sucks his lips into his mouth and stares around, avoiding eye contact with Hoseok and Minhyuk like seeing them would ruin everything.

Minhyuk pokes Hyungwon's knee, and Hyungwon just closes his eyes, shaking his head.

"Hyungwon," Minhyuk whispers.

Hyungwon shakes his head again. Minhyuk pokes at his knee again. Sucking in a breath, Hyungwon braces himself as he turns his head to glance over at him.

Minhyuk points over at Hoseok, and Hyungwon looks to find him, hands over his mouth and his shoulders shaking, and Hyungwon sputters out a laugh before he starts cackling. That starts the chain reaction and Hoseok bursts out and Minhyuk laughs loud as he sinks back into his chair.

"Oh no," Minhyuk says between gasps.

Hyungwon looks over and sees Changkyun turned around, glaring at them, and Hyungwon laughs harder.

"I’m sorry! We're sorry," Hoseok says but he still laughs along.

Changkyun gets a wicked grin before he holds his hands up in front of him, palms facing them.

"Quiet," he says.

And then the room falls silent no matter how much they laugh.

Changkyun sighs and stretches his neck. 

“Finally,” he mumbles before turning back to his pot. 

Hyungwon licks his lips and turns to try to speak to Minhyuk but nothing comes out. He sighs and leans against his hand again, forced into silence as Changkyun tries to make himself cry. 

Minhyuk rubs his hands together before using his finger to write in the air, blue lines appearing in the air where he writes. 

_ Give him a second. _

Hyungwon hates that all the lightness of laughing leaves him instantly, thinking about the tiny ache still in his hands. 

Hoseok grins and rubs his hands together again before he writes in the air back, yellow words filling the air. 

_ At least we can laugh now. _

Minhyuk looks like he giggles, but nothing comes out. They both turn to look at Hyungwon, and he gives him a tight little smile before reluctantly rubbing his hands together. 

_ Yes _ .

It’s all he can manage, the pink word fading almost as soon as he finishes. He puts his hand down and spreads it against the wood of the table. When he looks back up at Minhyuk and Hoseok, their smiling faces have faded too. 

“You okay?” Minhyuk mouths. 

Hyungwon swallows and starts nodding a bit before Hoseok reaches over and takes his hand in his, making Hyungwon wince. 

Minhyuk’s eyes widen. He starts trying to talk, but nothing can come out. He huffs and leans back before frantically writing in the air. 

_ What is it? What’s wrong?  _

Hyungwon feels his chest and throat fill up like ivy is wrapping itself around his torso. He blinks and looks down, trying to stop himself from crying. 

Hoseok folds his hand in his and squeezes it, and it’s warm and comforting, and Hyungwon can’t stop himself anymore. Tears fill his eyes, and his body heaves, and then Minhyuk’s hands are on his face, eyes wide and head shaking.

“Okay, I’m done,” Changkyun says, and then Hyungwon sobs aloud before Minhyuk pulls him close, hugging him. 

“Hyungwon, what is happening? What’s wrong?” Minhyuk asks. 

“Oh no,” Changkyun says. Hyungwon shuts his eyes as he feels Changkyun plaster himself against his back, and Hoseok just keeps squeezing his hand. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think…” Changkyun starts. 

“No. It isn’t. It isn’t you,” Hyungwon says. He buries his face in Minhyuk’s shoulder, and he tries to remember the last time he cried like this. It was years ago when Hakyeon told him he was leaving for earth, and all Hyungwon could feel was ruin. The end. And he cried into Minhyuk’s and Hoseok’s and Changkyun’s shoulders in turn until Jooheon came and told him not to worry anymore. 

It had been years, and Hyungwon hadn’t felt like this since then. Like something was ending. 

“Hyungwon, is it your magic?” Hoseok asks softly. And Hyungwon sobs again, making Minhyuk squeeze him closer.

“Your hands are freezing,” Hoseok says, holding his hand so delicately it hurts in a different way. In a different place. It makes Hyungwon feel fragile. 

“Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out, okay? Shh, it’s okay,” Minhyuk says. He kisses the top of Hyungwon’s head softly, rubbing his hand up and down his back.

“Yeah. Just cry it out if you have to. We’ll fix it. Whatever it is,” Changkyun says. Hyungwon closes his eyes and pulls away, wiping at his face. 

“I don’t know how to talk about it,” Hyungwon says. 

“That’s fine. We can wait until you do,” Hoseok says. 

Hyungwon sighs and lays his head down on the table, and it feels cool against him despite the warmth in the room. 

“I’ll make us hot chocolate then,” Changkyun says, walking back over to the stove. 

“Don’t you have a potion to worry about?” Hyungwon asks weakly.

“Please. It has to simmer for hours. Hot chocolate will take me a few minutes.”

Hyungwon can’t help but smile as Hoseok squeezes his hand again, and Minhyuk starts humming as he rubs his back. 

And he still feels weak and strange, but at least he knows he isn’t alone. 

“Do you want us to get Kihyun?” Hoseok asks. 

Hyungwon shakes his head, fresh tears coming up. 

“No. He...he doesn’t need to know yet. Not when I don’t even know what to tell him.”

Minhyuk frowns. “Hyungwon, if something is wrong don’t you think you should--”

“No! Please, Minhyuk, just let me figure this out first, and I swear that I’ll tell him, but right now, I don’t even know what I’d say to him.”

“Hey, it’s okay. Just us then. The four of us. We’ll talk and figure it out,” Hoseok says. 

Minhyuk still frowns, but he nods, rubbing Hyungwon’s shoulder. 

Hyungwon sniffs and wipes at his face, trying hard not to think about how the ache in his hands feels just the tiniest bit icy. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	4. Winter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winter is unyielding...for everything but spring.

“So is he going to be alright?” Minhyuk asks. 

Jooheon doesn't open his eyes, face wrinkled up into a frown as he squeezes Hyungwon’s hands. He doesn't answer either. 

“Minhyuk, I’ll be fine. Just go take care of your festival,” Hyungwon says. 

“Hyungwon—”

“He’s right. You have a lot of work to do. I’ll be here, alright?” Changkyun says softly somewhere behind him. 

Hyungwon shuts his eyes. He imagines Kihyun at the winter festival, getting things ready and coming out of the temple to see that nobody has come to see him after months of trying to be with the group more. It aches to think about. 

“No, all of you go. Tell Kihyun I'm running late because I can't figure out what to wear or something,” he says. 

Minhyuk scoffs. “He's not going to believe that, Hyungwon.”

“I know just...please. Do this for me.”

It's quiet for a moment, but then he hears Minhyuk sigh before his boots stomp across the floor and then the door opens, letting in the cold wind of winter. 

“See you soon, guys,” Changkyun says before he hurries after him, the door shutting after him. 

Silence fills Hyungwon’s home, only the crackling fire making any noise. Hyungwon looks at Jooheon again, sighing. 

“So? What is it?” Hyungwon asks. 

Jooheon’s nose twitches before he pulls his hands away and looks at him and shakes his head. Hyungwon’s heart sinks. 

“I don't know for sure. I can feel it though. How weak your magic is. Usually even in the other seasons it feels...big. Enough. Now…”

“Now it barely works.”

“It’ll work! You haven't lost your magic. It just would take more out of you to pull it out,” Jooheon says. 

“So what? My magic is dying? Jooheon, I've been alive for thousands of years, and now all of a sudden my magic is fading?”

Jooheon doesn't look at him. 

“What?” Hyungwon asks. 

“It's also the first time you've ever been consistently around the God of Winter,” Jooheon says softly. 

Hyungwon shakes his head. 

“Don't...don't say that. This isn't Kihyun's fault, Jooheon, it can't be.”

“I don't think it’s his fault either! You don't know how badly I want to be wrong, Hyungwon. But that's the only thing that's changed this year. And on top of that, last season you didn't even have a god for spring. It could be lots of things together— I don't know. But your hands feel cold, Hyungwon.”

Hyungwon shuts his eyes and shakes his head more. 

“I love him,” he whispers out. 

“I'm not telling you to stop,” Jooheon says. He reaches out and grabs Hyungwon's hands again. They feel so warm in Hyungwon’s hands, making him feel how chilled his own hands are in comparison.

“What am I supposed to do then? I'm not...I'm not going to stop seeing him. I can't.”

“I don't want you to do that either. For all we know, when spring comes, you'll be back to normal again, and this is all just a silly phase.”

Hyungwon sniffs and looks at him. 

“Do you think I'll go back to normal when spring comes?” he asks. 

Jooheon gives him a small smile. 

“Spring is the season of beginning. Of starting again. Maybe the first day of spring will come, and you'll be back to how you usually are in spring with all your magic and power.”

“And the rest of the year?”

Jooheon takes a deep breath and gets up, walking over to the fire. 

“Maybe I can help. Maybe if Hakyeon was still around, this wouldn't even be happening.”

Hyungwon frowns. 

“What are you saying?”

“I mean that I am only acting as the God of Spring when spring is here. Maybe if you had the god of your season around more, you wouldn't be affected like this.”

“So what? Your magic would fight off Kihyun’s or something?”

Jooheon bites at his thumbnail and shrugs. 

“Hoseok has never had his magic affected by mine. Maybe it's because Hyunwoo is always by his side.”

“Minhyuk and Changkyun have never had their magic affected by each other.”

“Yes, but they're witches. Their magic isn't...like ours.”

Hyungwon thinks of the many flowers he's given Kihyun and how they freeze at his touch. How the air changes around him with his moods. How Minhyuk can only conjure a snowball in his off-months in comparison. 

“So Kihyun’s magic,” Hyungwon says. 

Jooheon sighs and turns back to look at him. 

“Winter envelopes everything it touches. And he  _ is  _ winter. I can see how that would affect you.”

“You can't...you can't tell him that,” Hyungwon says. 

Jooheon frowns. 

“Hyungwon, he cares about you. Don't you think he'd want to know—”

“He’ll blame himself. He’ll go back into hiding in his palace all the time. He...he won't see me again, and...I can't have that. I can't have him go back to the way he was.”

It's quiet again. Tears well up in Hyungwon’s eyes as he slumps back in his chair, but he shakes his head and holds them back, clearing his throat a bit.

“We should go. I don't want to miss the festival,” Hyungwon says. 

“Right. I'm sure Kihyun has all kinds of things planned,” Jooheon says softly. 

Hyungwon nods before he wipes his face and gets up, walking over to grab his big coat and scarf. He wraps himself up as much as he can before walking over to the fire and taking a deep breath. The spell to keep a fire contained is simple, and yet it pricks at the tips of his fingers as he does it, wincing a bit until Jooheon reaches out and touches the back of his hand to help him. When Hyungwon looks at him again, his hair is blond like it was in the spring. 

“We’ll figure this out,” Jooheon says softly. 

Hyungwon doesn't answer. He just picks his coat up off the sofa and hands it to him before walking out into the cold to wait. His breath materializes in front of him, and a small layer of white covers everything as far as the eye can see. 

And Hyungwon smiles to himself. It’s the first time winter has ever seemed beautiful, covering everything in its path. 

The town square is covered in frost and snow, icicles coming down and glittering from every sign and from the eaves of every building. There is an arch made of sculpted ice at the entrance, the words  _ Winter Festival _ carved into it, and Hyungwon recognizes Minhyuk’s little doodles of snowmen and snowflakes etched into it as well. He hurries under it, the cold even stronger from the concentrated amount of ice in one area. His steps crunch as he hurries through the square, hurrying ahead of Jooheon and heading for the temple, hoping he isn't too late. 

Minhyuk paces in front of the temple, their other friends sitting on the steps, and he stops when he spots Hyungwon coming over. 

“So?” Minhyuk asks, eyes boring into Hyungwon. 

Hyungwon makes himself smile. 

“I’ll be fine. Jooheon is helping me, and he thinks it’ll all be cleared up by spring,” Hyungwon says, gesturing back to where Jooheon is walking up behind him.

Minhyuk squints at him, but he nods slowly before turning back to glance at the temple. 

“Lucky for you, he has been too busy to notice your absence, and he’s still in the temple,” Minhyuk says. 

Hyungwon chuckles, trying to forget. Trying to focus on now. He huffs out a breath and watches it turn to steam in front of his eyes and smiles. 

“I'm glad I didn't miss anything,” Hyungwon says. 

The doors of the temple burst open, and Hyungwon looks up, and he doesn't have to fake his smile when he sees Kihyun step out of the temple. 

Kihyun has always been beautiful, of course. But now he is standing with such confidence as he looks around. And then his eyes land on Hyungwon, and his smile brightens, and Hyungwon bites his lip. 

There's a crown of white and blue snowflakes all around Kihyun's head, shimmering in the sunlight as he hurries down the steps. He doesn't need a coat, but he wears a beautiful robe that somehow stays dry as it trails along behind him. It is also white as the snow, with little crystal details around the end and the sleeves and absolutely befitting one of the gods. 

Kihyun sends a smile and a nod to everyone else before he is throwing his arms around Hyungwon and pulling him close. Hyungwon giggles and hugs him back, kissing his pink lips and finding warmth in them. When he pulls away, Kihyun is beaming. 

“Happy first day of winter,” Hyungwon says. 

“Happy first day of winter,” Kihyun says back before he kisses him again and hugs him tight. 

For a moment all Hyungwon can think about is how unfair this feels. He buries his face in his neck, curling all around him, and Kihyun laughs and kisses his neck. 

“Too cold?” he asks him. 

“Hm. I'm regretting not wearing a hat,” Hyungwon mumbles against him. 

“Ah. Don't worry. I'll keep you warm,” Kihyun whispers back. Hyungwon feels queasy, but he clutches harder at him. 

“Are you two done yet? I want to see what Kihyun made,” Hoseok calls. 

Kihyun sighs and pulls away, and Hyungwon is reluctant to let him. He wants the comfort of being in his arms and letting the rest of the world melt away. But right now Kihyun wasn't just his, so he lets him go. 

When Kihyun takes his hand in his, Hyungwon squeezes it through his gloves and frowns at how distant that feels compared to just their hands together. 

“Right! I know usually...don't really do much for winter, but I thought this year should be different. I worked really hard with Minhyuk on it, and I just hope you guys like it,” Kihyun says. 

“I'm sure we’ll love it,” Hyunwoo says. 

Kihyun smiles again before heading off, tugging Hyungwon along. They walk towards the place Jooheon’s orchard usually is, and then walk past the snow covered trees to an area covered in small hills. There's a carefully made path that is free of snow that they follow around a hill, and Kihyun squeezes Hyungwon’s hand tighter as he glances back, nerves setting in. Hyungwon squeezes his hand back and smiles at him as they make the turn around the hill. 

Hyungwon freezes and gasps at the sight in front of him. 

There's a large pond frosted over entirely, and there's a makeshift wall put up near it full of ice skates. There are sleds lined up at the bottoms of every hill and little signs showing where to walk up and where to sled down. And everything is covered in the purest and loveliest snow Hyungwon has ever seen. 

“So what do you think?” Kihyun asks. There's a tightness in his voice that betrays how nervous he is. 

Hyungwon turns to him and smiles, putting an arm around his shoulders. 

“It’s beautiful, love,” Hyungwon says before kissing his cheek. Kihyun smiles brighter before he turns to talk to everyone else. Hyungwon watches him get praised for a moment before he slips his hand away and walks toward the pond, letting the quiet serenity of everything around him fill him up. 

He takes his gloves off and puts them in one of the chest pockets on his coat before reaching down into one of the bigger pockets. He touches the tiny little flower there, a pink hellebore that Hyungwon had taken from his garden before Minhyuk and Changkyun had brought Jooheon. He didn't have many winter flowers, but he was glad that he had planted the hellebore. It had livened his sleeping garden up. 

“There you are. Do you want to try ice skating?” Kihyun asks. Hyungwon turns to him, taken out of his thoughts.

“Yes, but first I have something for you.”

Kihyun grins. 

“Oh?”

Hyungwon smiles back as he pulls the small flower out of his pocket and holds it out to him. And like always, Kihyun’s eyes light up as he takes it in his hand, and like always, it freezes over at his touch. 

“It’s called hellebore. It blooms in the winter. I know it's small but—”

“It's beautiful,” Kihyun says. He reaches up and takes his crown off for a moment. Then he adds the flower to it, sitting like a jewel in the front, surrounded by the snowflakes. When Kihyun puts it back on, it sits right in the middle of his forehead, and Hyungwon feels something well up in him. 

“Thank you. I love it,” Kihyun says. 

“I love you,” Hyungwon says. 

And Kihyun smiles. 

“I love you too. Now come on, let's find you your skates.” 

Kihyun takes Hyungwon's hand in his, and Hyungwon smiles at how warm it feels before they're both running off towards the wall of skates. 

Minhyuk and Changkyun are already out on the ice, Minhyuk skating backwards and holding both of Changkyun's hands to guide him along, and Hyungwon smiles when he hears Changkyun laugh, a feeling of delight filling the air. Hoseok and Hyunwoo are holding hands as they slowly skate along the edge, trying to figure it out together, and Jooheon is laughing as he skates around them, already having gotten the hang of it. 

“I feel like I can sense my future,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun snorts as he looks around the wall before he tugs some skates out. 

“We’ll figure it out. Here. I made these especially for you,” he says. 

Hyungwon takes the skates from him before he smiles. The skates are white, but they have pink tulips painted onto the sides of them, blooming up from the sole. His name is engraved on the heels with a little heart next to them, and he melts at the tiny little show of affection. 

“Do you like them? I wanted to make them more flowery, but Minhyuk told me I was going overboard,” Kihyun says. 

“I love them. Thank you.”

Kihyun smiles and leans in and kisses him again before walking him over to a nearby bench. He sits Hyungwon down before he kneels down in front of him, helping him out of his boots and into his new skates. He giggles whenever Kihyun presses kisses to his knees while he laces them up and makes sure they're comfortable. And then when Kihyun is finally done, he stands up and takes both of Hyungwon’s hands in his and helps him find his balance in them. 

“Where are your skates?” Hyungwon asks. 

“Oh, wait,” Kihyun says. He tentatively lets go of Hyungwon, and when he sees that Hyungwon has his balance, he leans down and waves his hands over his shoes, making blades appear under his soles to make them skates. Then he waves his hands back with a little flourish, and the robe shortens to be around his knees, so it isn't dragging anymore.

“Ah I see,” Hyungwon says. Kihyun smirks at him before taking his hand again.

“You ready to do this?” he asks. 

“I'm ready to try,” Hyungwon answers. 

Kihyun laughs as he helps him carefully over to the pond. They glide out onto it, and Hyungwon squeezes kihyun's hand tighter as he gets used to the feeling, trying to find his balance again. 

“If I let go, can you stand?” Kihyun asks. 

Hyungwon pouts at him. “Why are you letting go?”

Kihyun laughs. “I just want to make sure you can skate by yourself.”

Hyungwon sighs and nods, and Kihyun carefully lets go of him. Hyungwon stretches his hands out a bit, getting his balance, but he doesn't stumble much which makes Kihyun smile bigger. 

“Okay good. Now…” Kihyun trails off before he skates back a few feet. He holds his arms out toward him. “Skate to me.”

Taking a deep breath, he puts one foot in front of the other, slowly skating the short distance between them. Kihyun grabs his hands as soon as he's close enough and pulls them up to kiss the backs of them. 

“I think you're going to make a fine ice skater, Hyungwon,” he says. 

Hyungwon smiles and squeezes Kihyun's hands. 

“As long as I have you with me, I think I'll be just fine,” Hyungwon says. 

Hyungwon has seen Kihyun happy many times before, but today he is all huge smiles and little laughs and hurried little pecks. He is joyous in a way that makes Hyungwon feel happy too. He holds tight to Kihyun’s hand and slowly skates around the pond with him, taking in the snow and the chill and the warmth of his hand in his, and he hopes that he doesn't betray a hint of what's going on deeper inside his mind. 

He can't ruin today. Not on the first day of his season. Not on their first winter festival together. 

Not today, and not the next day either, Hyungwon decides. He’ll tell him eventually, but not now. 

After an hour of skating, and another half hour of sledding, they end up playing in the snow, making snow angels and tiny snowmen, and every time Hyungwon looks over at Kihyun, he ends up kissing him, trying to muffle everything inside him. 

The Winter Palace is warmer than it is in the other seasons. There are fires lit in almost every room, and the ice and snow keep the heat in, making Hyungwon want to shed his heavy coat as soon as they step inside. 

“Wow, this is impressive,” Changkyun says. 

“I can't believe it's our first time coming here,” Hoseok adds. 

“Eh, it's nothing special,” Minhyuk says. Kihyun rolls his eyes as he playfully shoves at Minhyuk, making him laugh. 

“I'm sorry I've never hosted anything before. But I didn't think I could pull off as much as Jooheon and Changkyun do, so I thought it could be just us,” Kihyun says. 

“I'm excited!” Jooheon says. 

Kihyun grins. “I hope I live up to expectations. You can put your coats in that closet over there, by the way.” 

Hyungwon is the first to move toward the closet, putting his things up on a hanger and getting out of the way as everyone else follows his direction. He walks back over to Kihyun’s side and smoothes his hair back a bit beneath his crown. 

“Oh, is it messy?” Kihyun asks. 

“Just a bit from all the things we did today,” Hyungwon says. 

“Thank you,” he whispers before he leans in and kisses Hyungwon. Hyungwon kisses back, small smile on his face. 

“Of course. That is why you keep me around, isn’t it? To straighten out your hair lovingly?”

Kihyun snorts and takes his hand, pulling him towards the hall that leads to the kitchen. Hyungwon hears the rest of the group follow after them, talking amongst themselves, mentioning the amount of flowers that sit on every single space they can be on, and he smiles to himself. 

Everywhere he looks, Kihyun has made some for him. Has made Hyungwon a part of his home thoroughly enough that it feels like it belongs to Hyungwon as well. 

“It smells so good,” Hyunwoo says as they get closer to the kitchen. 

“I've left things cooking and roasting all day, so that's probably why,” Kihyun says. He hurries into the kitchen with Hyungwon, and Hyungwon’s mouth fills as the smell of cooking food and spices and herbs fully hits him. 

“Are we eating in here?” Minhyuk asks, already going to crowd around the bubbling pots on the stove. 

“We can, but I have a dining room,” Kihyun says. 

“I'll go get it ready,” Hyungwon says. He kisses Kihyun's cheek before he heads off to the adjoining dining room.

“I'll help you,” Jooheon calls. 

Hyungwon slows down at the door and waits for Jooheon to join him before they both go into the room together. 

“The napkins and silverware are in this cabinet,” Hyungwon says as he walks toward the wooden cabinet standing tall in the corner. It matches the bigger dining room table that sits in the middle of the room. If it wasn’t for the frozen flowers hung up on vases on the walls, the room would be woefully empty. Even in the room meant to entertain others, Hyungwon could be seen on every wall. 

“You want to do napkins?” Jooheon asks. 

“Sure.”

Hyungwon gathers up seven of the napkins before he sits down at the table to fold them. 

“So,” Jooheon says quietly. He’s counting out silverware, and Hyungwon glances up at him before focusing back on folding the napkins. 

“So?”

“How are you feeling?” He asks. 

“Good. It was a good day.”

“Not tired or anything?”

Hyungwon sighs and looks at the door to the kitchen. Kihyun is laughing at something Minhyuk is saying, crown glittering in the light. 

“I haven't had to use magic today so no,” he answers. 

“Do you...know when you're going to tell him?”

Hyungwon sighs and gives a pleading look at Jooheon. 

“Not today or tomorrow at least. It's his season, Jooheon. He's so happy. I can't just take that away from him.”

“Alright, alright, I'm sorry,” Jooheon says. He walks over and takes a napkin from Hyungwon to help him fold it.

Hyungwon sighs and finishes up before taking the folded napkins and setting them on the plates in front of each seat. Jooheon follows after him, the silverware clinking softly as he sets it down around the placemats and the plates. In the other room, Kihyun laughs again, and Hyungwon focuses on that to pull himself out of the slump.

When Jooheon finishes, he goes up and hugs Hyungwon, and Hyungwon hugs him back, feeling how his body gets enveloped in something warm and gentle, taking away any lingering tiredness. Hyungwon closes his eyes and squeezes him closer. 

“Is Kihyun a good cook though?” Jooheon asks softly. 

Hyungwon snorts and pulls away from him. 

“Why? Are you scared?”

“Look, I haven’t had Kihyun’s cooking in...ever actually?” 

Hyungwon laughs and shoves at his chest. Jooheon laughs a bit. 

“He is a perfectly good cook,” Hyungwon says. 

“I’m glad to hear.”

“Does it really take this long to set the table?” 

Hyungwon looks up to see Minhyuk in the doorway, smiling at them.

“Sorry, got distracted,” Hyungwon says. 

“Go ahead and sit down then, the food is ready,” Minhyuk says. 

Hyungwon goes and sits down in the chair next to the one at the head of the table. Jooheon goes ahead and sits next to him, while Minhyuk sits down across from him.

“Okay, everyone be careful, it’s hot,” Hyunwoo calls as he walks in carrying one of the pots, Hoseok hurrying in after him with another pot. Kihyun follows after both of them with a pitcher in each hand, the handles steaming from how cold they are. 

“Sorry for the wait everyone,” Kihyun says as he hurries over to his seat at the head of the table. He places the pitchers down as Hyunwoo situates the pots. Changkyun follows after them, using his magic to carry seven glasses for all of them.

“You guys truly make everything harder on yourselves,” Changkyun says. 

Minhyuk rolls his eyes as he snatches his glass out of the air and puts it down in front of him. Hyungwon grabs two, one for him and one for Kihyun, before helping him pass one of the pitchers down the table. 

It takes a bit, but everyone eventually sits down and starts serving themselves, and the conversation goes quiet as everyone starts to eat. 

“Wow, this is great, Ki,” Hoseok says. 

The lovely heat of the room instantly goes chilly as Kihyun perks up. 

“I’m glad you like it!” he says. 

Hyungwon reaches under the table and squeezes Kihyun’s knee, and they look at each other. Kihyun looks so happy, Hyungwon could burst. His smile is evident on his entire face, and his eyes are shimmering, and Hyungwon would do anything to keep that smile right where it was. 

The dinner goes well. They spend the night eating and laughing and just hanging out together. Hyungwon hangs back as everyone else leaves, helping wash the dishes in the kitchen.

“Why are you actually doing the dishes?”

Hyungwon stops and looks behind his shoulder to see Kihyun leaning against the door, smiling at him. A pit in Hyungwon’s stomach opens up. 

“What do you mean?” he asks. He knows it sounds ridiculous as soon as it comes out of his mouth, but he’s lucky that Kihyun just laughs and walks closer. 

“I appreciate it, but you don’t have to do the dishes. I can take care of that,” he says. He walks over and wraps his arms around Hyungwon, pressing his cheek against his shoulder. Hyungwon bites his lip and takes his wet gloves off before wrapping his hands around Kihyun’s wrists.

“Alright, then. I’ll let you clean up after yourself,” he says. 

Kihyun snorts and hugs him tighter. 

“I love you. So so much,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon smiles and turns around in Kihyun’s arms. He reaches up and cradles Kihyun’s face in his hands. 

“I love you too, Kihyun.”

The whole room goes freezing around them as Kihyun leans in and kisses him, but Hyungwon doesn’t mind. He doesn’t even feel it. Not when all he can focus on is Kihyun’s lips against his, and the warmth he always finds in his arms. 

“Are you staying the night or do you want me to walk you home?” Kihyun asks. It’s barely a whisper, breath against Hyungwon’s lips. 

Hyungwon kisses him again, a slow soft peck on his top lip. 

“Our first winter night, and you don’t think I want to spend it with you?” Hyungwon asks. 

Kihyun chuckles and kisses him again, and it feels like magic in Hyungwon’s chest. 

Hyungwon wonders if Kihyun usually lights a fire in his bedroom, or if it’s for his benefit. They lie next to each other under piles and piles of blankets, and Hyungwon keeps playing with Kihyun’s hair, running his fingers through it as he stares at the flames. 

“Are you warm enough?” Kihyun asks softly. 

Hyungwon looks over at him, and he is nodding off, eyes fluttering closed and staying shut for more than a few seconds whenever he blinks. 

“Yes, thank you,” Hyungwon says. He stares at Kihyun. At the little moles on his face. On the way the fire casts shadows on him. And Hyungwon had spent his life amongst beautiful gods, but none of them had ever left him breathless like Kihyun does. 

“Go to sleep, love. You must be exhausted,” Hyungwon whispers. 

Kihyun hums and reaches out to him. Hyungwon lets Kihyun pull him closer, giggling as Kihyun lays his head on his chest. 

“I love you,” Kihyun says softly.

“I love you too. Now sleep,” Hyungwon says, kissing the top of Kihyun’s head. 

“You make me so incredibly happy,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon bites his lip. He starts playing with Kihyun’s hair again. 

“You make me happy too,” Hyungwon says. He closes his eyes and says the words as sure as he would say a spell. 

A few moments later, Kihyun is breathing softly, drifting off, and Hyungwon just lays still, running his fingers through Kihyun’s hair and staring at the fire again. He knows he made the right choice in not telling him today. He knows he did. But there’s something awful and guilty gnawing at his mind about it. 

When Hakyeon had left, Hyungwon couldn’t comprehend giving up his magic for anything. He wondered now if he would have to give it up for Kihyun. If he was willing to do that. If he could. 

He counts in his mind how many years have passed without Hakyeon. If it would have been too long. And when he realizes that it’s only been about a decade, he makes up his mind on what he needs to do before he considers any of those things. 

It is very early in the morning, and in winter that means there isn’t even a trace of a sunrise yet. Hyungwon sniffs as he hugs himself trudging through the snow to his backyard where his birdbath sits. It has been a few days since the winter festival, and luckily for him, Kihyun and Minhyuk were off doing their winter duties all day, giving Hyungwon time and space for this. 

His birdbath always sits full, never freezing, and Hyungwon takes a deep breath as he looks down at his shadowed reflection in it. He is more nervous than he’s ever been walking up to the it. 

“Will...will Hakyeon recognize me?” he asks it softly. 

The water shimmers a bit before it lights up. 

_ Yes. _

Hyungwon sighs, gripping onto the sides of it. 

“Take me to him, please.”

Hyungwon is grateful that it isn’t his magic that transports him to Earth. He thinks he would fall to pieces if he tried a magical feat like that. Instead, he holds tight to his birdbath for a moment before opening his eyes and looking around. 

It is still early on Earth, but it is somehow darker there. He looks around and realizes he is also in a backyard for a small house surrounded by snow and trees. Taking a step away from the birdbath, he worries that maybe he came far too early and that Hakyeon won’t even be awake yet. The former God of Spring had been a morning person then, but that felt like a lifetime ago at this point. And on top of that, that was back when Hakyeon was a god. He had no idea what a human Hakyeon would be like at all. 

But as he steps closer to the house, he notices a light coming from inside and smoke coming from the chimney, so he steels his resolve and walks around the house. He knocks on the door lightly and steps back, hoping not to startle anyone. 

“Who could that be at this hour?” he hears, muffled through the door. But then it swings open, and Hyungwon’s eyes widen. 

Hakyeon definitely recognizes him. His eyes blow wide the instant he can take him in, but Hyungwon almost doesn’t recognize him at first glance. He has aged, not too much, but enough to be noticeable. His face is a bit less round, his eyes are sharper, and his hair has been cut shorter, the solid black of before now having a few spots here and there of silver that, as a god, Hakyeon would have never been okay with but, as a human, suits him somehow. 

“Hyungwon?” Hakyeon asks after a moment, like he’s suddenly realizing himself, and his voice is a bit deeper too. 

“Hakyeon. I...I’m sorry to have come unannounced.”

“Who is it?” 

Hyungwon blinks and looks past Hakyeon. 

He had never seen the man that Hakyeon had given everything up for. He had never thought to ask. But now he can see him. He is taller than even Hakyeon, his lips pouty and eyes wide. His black hair comes down straight across his forehead. He tilts his head a bit, curious as he looks between Hyungwon and Hakyeon, but there is no suspicion or anger in his gaze.

“Jaehwan, this is Hyungwon. The—”

Jaehwan’s eyes widen in realization. 

“The witch! Let him inside then, what are you doing?” Jaehwan rushes out. 

Hakyeon laughs a bit and opens the door wider, stepping aside.

“Please, come in. I’m sorry, I’m just so shocked to see you. It’s been so long after all,” Hakyeon says. 

Hyungwon bows his head as he hurries inside, grateful for the heat from the fire.

“Yes, I know. I’m sorry, but whenever I checked in, I would just ask if you were happy, and it always said yes, so I didn’t want to bother you or...I’m rambling aren’t I?”

Hakyeon smiles, laughter in his face, and Hyungwon does recognize that. 

“It’s astonishing really. Ten years have passed, and you are...well...you look the exact same,” he says. 

“Can I take your coat? Make you some tea?” Jaehwan offers. Hyungwon looks at him and realizes that he’s nervous. As if he didn’t live with a god. 

“Oh, thank you. And yes, please, I would love some,” Hyungwon says as he shrugs off his coat and hands it to him. Jaehwan nods as he takes it, hurrying back over to where Hakyeon is because the coat hanger is next to him.

“Go make him tea, then,” Jaehwan says, patting Hakyeon along. Hakyeon rolls his eyes, grabbing onto Jaehwan’s hands and pulling him closer. 

“You’re being ridiculous,” he says.

“You make better tea than I do,” Jaehwan says with a pout, and Hakyeon sighs, but he smiles. 

“You make delicious tea but alright,” Hakyeon says before kissing Jaehwan lightly and letting him go to walk over to the stove. 

Hyungwon watches them, slightly fascinated. He’s sure to other humans they just seem like any other couple. But when Hyungwon looks at them, he can’t help but think about how Jaehwan was the person that made Hakyeon give up everything for him. This cottage they lived in was more akin to Hyungwon’s home than the Spring Palace. Before, a flick of the wrist was all Hakyeon needed to make some tea. Now he is filling a pot with water and checking the heat on the stove. 

“You can sit if you want,” Jaehwan says.

“Thank you,” Hyungwon says, letting Jaehwan lead him to the table. 

“Have you had breakfast? We have some bread and jam?”

“No, thank you, I ate beforehand,” Hyungwon says. It’s a lie, but he doesn’t think he could stomach anything heavier than tea with how nervous he feels. 

“Okay, good,” Jaehwan says. He bows his head a bit before walking back over to Hakyeon and whispering something in his ear before kissing him on the cheek and disappearing into another room. 

“I didn’t mean to cause such an imposition,” Hyungwon says after a few seconds. 

“Oh, nonsense. Old friends are never impositions,” Hakyeon says. 

“Right.”

“Though, I am curious what has brought you here. I know you didn’t venture down to Earth very often. And you certainly didn’t start to come visit me when I left.”

Hyungwon twiddles his thumbs. Hakyeon had always been kind, but Hyungwon had never felt like they were on the same level. With Jooheon and Hyunwoo, he had felt like he could joke around and act silly with them. But Hakyeon had always carried himself like silly games would be beneath him even if he liked to joke around as much as everyone else. Hakyeon was someone Hyungwon sought out for advice or answers, not for casual hang outs, and that was still true. Especially now that Hakyeon had aged physically. It made Hyungwon feel young and inexperienced despite them having lived the same amount of time. 

“I...I’m sorry about that too. I know the others have come a few times, but it was always when I couldn’t. I was glad to hear that you were doing well though,” Hyungwon says. 

“I understand.”

The kettle squeals, and Hakyeon whirls around to pull it off the stove, pouring the boiling water into the waiting teapot before he brings the whole tray over to the table and sets it out. Hyungwon takes the teacup closest to him, and waits, wondering how long it will take to steep.

“But I am guessing that this visit isn’t just for catching up,” Hakyeon says. 

Hyungwon bites his lip and shakes his head. 

“What is it?” Hakyeon asks. 

Hyungwon looks up at him, and there must have been some tell in his eyes because Hakyeon’s face changes from calm to worried in an instant. 

“Oh, no. What’s wrong? Is it...is it Jooheon? Can he not handle having two seasons anymore?” Hakyeon asks. 

Hyungwon sniffs and wipes at his eyes. 

“What?”

“I don’t know. I worry. I can’t...I can’t go back, so if Jooheon is fed up, I don’t know what I’ll do. What we can do and—”

“It isn’t that. Don’t worry. I would never ask you to leave Jaehwan. Especially not now.”

Hakyeon blinks for a moment before he tilts his head. 

“Especially now? Does that mean...that you’re in love?” he asks.

Hyungwon can’t help but smile as he nods, even as fresh tears come up. 

Hakyeon’s eyes widen, but he just grabs the teapot and starts pouring out tea for both of them.

“Is he human? Is that why you’re so upset?” Hakyeon asks. 

“No. Definitely not a human,” Hyungwon says. 

“Oh?”

Hyungwon sucks in a breath. 

“It’s Kihyun.”

Hakyeon looks up at him so quickly, Hyungwon is surprised he doesn’t hurt himself. 

“Kihyun? You can’t mean... _ the  _ Kihyun, can you? God of Winter Kihyun?” he asks. 

Hyungwon snorts. 

“Is that so surprising?”

“I’m surprised anyone other than Minhyuk was able to find him. Or did he come out of hiding on his own?”

Hyungwon pulls the teacup closer and sips at it. It tastes exactly like how his tea used to taste. Absolutely perfect. Steeped just enough and deep with just a hint of citrus.

“You haven’t lost your touch,” Hyungwon says.

“Some skills aren’t reliant on magic. You are avoiding my question though.”

Hyungwon sighs and leans back in his chair. 

“I went to him. Invited him to the spring festival as a friend. By the time spring ended we were together. We’ve been inseparable ever since,” Hyungwon says. 

Hakyeon smiles fondly, leaning on his hand as he drinks his tea. 

“I’m happy for the two of you. But that doesn’t explain why you’re here. Or why you’re so sad.”

Hyungwon sighs. 

“The problem isn’t him. Or us. It’s...me. My magic.”

“Your magic?”

Hyungwon stares down at the tea in his cup. 

“I think I’m losing my magic by being around him. Jooheon said he thinks the same thing. That my magic is smaller inside me. That my hands are cold. But all I know is that doing the simplest of things exhaust me. They make my whole arm ache, and that never used to happen. But now, I can barely conjure a flower.”

It’s silent again. Neither of them drink from their cup. Hyungwon sits in it. The discomfort that comes every time he thinks about this. Every time he talks about it. He stares it face on and waits for Hakyeon to say something first. 

“You talked to Jooheon about this already?” Hakyeon asks after a while. 

“I did.”

“And he just said he thinks it’s Kihyun?”

“No. He thinks maybe since he isn’t used to being the God of Spring all the time, that that has left me more susceptible to it? And that when spring comes again that I’ll go back to normal, and that this is just something that might happen now when I’m out of season.”

“But you don’t believe him?”

Hyungwon chews on his lip. 

“I don’t know. All I know is that no matter what, I am not leaving Kihyun. I can’t. I’d rather lose my magic for three seasons out of the year than never see him again.”

“I see.”

“But he would never let me do that, Hakyeon. When I first talked to him, he was afraid to take a flower from me because he thought he’d ruin it with frost. That he was ruining it with frost. He worries constantly about how winter and cold takes over things. I can’t...I can’t tell him that it could be taking over my magic. Over me.”

Hakyeon nods, and Hyungwon had almost forgotten for a moment that he knows. Had met Kihyun long before Hyungwon had even laid eyes on him. He sinks back in his chair again, having realized how close he was leaning in his agitation. 

“I’m sorry. None of this is really your concern. I just...I needed to talk to someone else. Someone who won’t just tell me that it’ll work out because they don’t want me to worry, but how can I not worry?” Hyungwon says softly.

Shifting, Hakyeon clears his throat, clasping both his hands together on the table. Looking every bit the god he once was. 

“You don’t have anything to apologize for. When I made this decision, I didn’t talk to anyone else about it. I made it on my own and filled everyone in later. Sure, you and everyone knew that I was sneaking off to Earth every spare moment I could to see Jaehwan, but I’m sure no one thought it was...as serious as it became.”

“I know.”

“And while nothing could have changed my mind about my decision, I wished there had been someone for me to talk with about it. At least so it didn’t catch everyone so unaware. So I understand wanting to talk to someone about things, even if it is just to know someone is listening.”

Hyungwon smiles a bit and nods. 

“Yes. Exactly.”

“So, do you want to hear my thoughts, or is your mind about all of this made up?”

“I came here because I wanted to talk to you. Listen to you too. Maybe just get an opinion that isn’t just Jooheon’s.”

“And not Kihyun’s?”

Hyungwon huffs. “I already know what his opinion is.”

Hakyeon laughs a bit and drinks down the rest of his tea before pouring himself another cup. 

“If Jooheon truly believes that your magic will go back to normal when spring comes, then I am inclined to share his opinion.”

“And if he hadn’t had that opinion?”

Hakyeon takes a deep breath and sips at his tea, glancing behind Hyungwon. Hyungwon turns to find that the sun has started to rise, light filtering in from the window. Through the window, though, Hyungwon can see a great expanse covered in snow, a blanket over everything he can see. 

“Kihyun hid himself away in that tower because he was afraid of his own nature. The other gods, in his eyes, are incredibly lucky that their seasons are not like winter. Hyunwoo is the summer personified, but his touch doesn’t burn. His presence isn’t an oppressive heat or a thunderstorm. Jooheon is gentle like the coming of autumn, slowly calming the world down, and yet things do not begin to decay in his hands. And when I was spring, nothing I touched bloomed without my will first, and I didn’t have flowers pouring out of my palms.”

“What is it about winter then? I mean, look,” Hyungwon says, pointing back towards the window. He feels fierce suddenly, needing to defend his love. “It...it’s beautiful. The sun still shines. Children still play. Yes, it is cold, but look at the snow. Look how it glistens. And snowflakes are one of nature’s most delicate and perfect creations.”

“It is. Winter has always been beautiful, Hyungwon, I’m not saying it’s not,” Hakyeon says. 

“Then why? Why is his magic so different? Why does it affect mine when no one else’s ever has?”

Hakyeon stares at him for a moment, and Hyungwon shuts his eyes, feeling drained. He is floating out in space, a tiny snowflake tumbling towards earth, but the wind won’t let him settle. His heart is bound tight, love tightening around him like vines. But he had never felt trapped by Kihyun, by his love. It was his own magic that made him feel caged now. 

“I can feel it. Even when I do the simplest of things. The way my fingers go so cold after. The way the ache crawls up my wrist and leaves me feeling exhausted. Like I can’t move. Like I need to lay down for a while to rest after. And it scares me, but it scares me even more to think that being with Kihyun caused this. That the only person that makes me feel warm and loved from the inside out is the person that’s taking everything away from me,” Hyungwon whispers out. Pained. His voice is burnt out coals being raked over in the hopes to find one still burning. 

Hakyeon reaches out and wraps his hands around Hyungwon’s.

“That’s the thing about winter, Hyungwon,” he says gently. 

Hyungwon sniffs, wanting to wipe his tears away, but he doesn’t. He lets Hakyeon hold him in place, staring him right in the eyes. 

“When winter comes, it is unstoppable. It comes and it consumes everything it touches. The chill in the air stays. When it does snow, it is inescapable. When it doesn’t snow, the ground still turns cold and hard,” Hakyeon continues. Hyungwon frowns, feeling everything well up inside him again. 

“Winter is unyielding...for everything but spring,” Hakyeon says softly. 

Somewhere in the other room, Jaehwan moves around. Steps echoing around the small home. Something calming washes over Hyungwon as the words settle inside him. 

“So…” he says. 

“I think that when spring comes, it will be better. Spring is the only thing that always melts winter away,” Hakyeon says. 

“You really do agree with Jooheon then.”

Hakyeon hesitates for a moment. Hyungwon’s stomach tightens.

“I can’t see the future, Hyungwon. I mean it when I say that I truly think your magic will get strong again in spring.”

“But?”

Hakyeon sighs and leans back again. 

“But I don’t know if it will be like it always was before. And I don’t feel right telling you I think everything will just be fixed in the spring. Especially because Kihyun is a god. Your magic is amazing and great, but it isn’t like a god’s magic. Your magic lives inside of you, and you have to work it to get results. We— I mean, they...are like living magic,” Hakyeon says. 

“Then there’s nothing I can do?” Hyungwon asks. 

Hakyeon gives him a small smile. 

“You can do what makes you happiest. That’s what I did. I gave up one life to have this life with Jaehwan. But I don’t think you’ll have to give up everything to be happy. Maybe you’ll just need more help than usual in the other seasons. Maybe Kihyun will have to support you. I don’t know what that looks like for you, but that’s my advice. Do what makes you happiest.”

Hyungwon’s mind instantly thinks of Kihyun. The laughter they share together. The way he wraps his arms around him. The love they created out of pink flowers and soft shivers. 

Happiness used to be sitting in the garden, drinking tea, and laughing. But now that image feels incomplete without Kihyun there by his side, laughing along with him. 

“Easy as that, huh?” Hyungwon asks, a small smile appearing on his lips. 

Hakyeon laughs a bit. 

“Yeah. As easy as that,” he says. 

Hyungwon looks around their home again. There are flowers pressed between panes of glass hanging on the walls. A crown of flowers made up like a wreath hanging on the door, a secret hanging in plain sight. Hyungwon can see Hakyeon there. But between the flowers are things he doesn’t see Hakyeon in at all. Black lines painting funny little faces on white paper. Little paper-mache animals on shelves. Sheet music stacked up in a pile on a desk. Pieces of Jaehwan sitting around. 

“You do seem happy. The two of you,” Hyungwon says. 

“We are.”

“Do you not miss it? The palace? The temple? The magic?”

“Palace was too big for me. The temple was stuffy.”

“The magic though?”

Hakyeon smiles brighter, looking down a bit at the table. 

“I wake up every morning, and I see Jaehwan smile, and I hear him say good morning, and if I’m lucky, he’ll wake up singing. It feels just like magic.”

Hyungwon smiles and nods. He understands exactly what he means.

“I should be going now. I think I’ve made Jaehwan hide away in another room long enough. Thank you for having me.”

“Of course. You’re welcome any time.”

They both stand up, and Hyungwon reaches in his pockets before pulling out a few sachets of tea.

“Here. I didn’t show up to your house empty-handed,” he says. 

Hakyeon’s eyes widen with delight as he takes them.

“Oh, now maybe this I missed,” he says.

Hyungwon laughs as he makes his way to the door, picking up his coat.

“I’ll bring more soon,” Hyungwon says. 

“Thank you, oh merciful Witch of Spring,” Hakyeon says with a little bow. 

“Please never do that again, that is so strange,” Hyungwon says. 

Hakyeon chuckles and opens the door for him. 

“See you, Hyungwon. Say hi to everyone for me,” he says. 

“I will. Goodbye.”

Hyungwon hurries over to the birdbath, blinking at the bright sun shining down at the snow. 

Somehow, he feels more at peace.

Hyungwon walked the familiar path from the gates to the front door of the winter palace. It had been a few weeks since he had gone to visit Hakyeon, and every day he told himself that he was going to tell Kihyun all about his magic, and what was going on, but every single day he would look at Kihyun’s smile and push it off until the next day. 

Maybe Hyungwon isn’t as brave as he wished to be. Not as strong. Especially not in front of that smile. 

But today, Hyungwon decided it would be different. He would sit Kihyun down and just talk to him about it. Be honest about it. 

The door is heavy as he pulls it open, and heavy as he pushes it closed. It creaks a bit and Hyungwon sighs as he pulls his jacket off, grateful for the warmth inside. 

“Hyungwon?” 

Kihyun’s voice carries like a winter lark chirping through trees, and Hyungwon smiles to himself. 

“I’m putting my coat up,” he calls back. 

“Wait! Keep it on for a second!”

Hyungwon stops, one arm already out of his coat as he sees Kihyun hurrying over through the hallway that leads to the library. 

“Are we going outside?” Hyungwon asks. 

Kihyun steps right up to him, pulling his coat back up on his arm and starting to zip it up. He tilts up and looks at him, stopping to grin at him as he readjusts his scarf. 

“Hello,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon laughs a bit, soft. 

“Hello,” he says back.

Kihyun leans in and kisses him, and Hyungwon kisses him back, wishing he would never stop. Maybe if he didn’t there wouldn’t ever be a need to tell him at all. 

But eventually Kihyun pulls away and finishes readjusting Hyungwon’s coat before taking his hand and pulling him back towards the library. 

“Is it that cold in there? Why do I need a coat?” Hyungwon asks. 

“You’ll see,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon smiles and squeezes his hand. Kihyun squeezes it back. 

The library is warm, still covered all over in Hyungwon and Kihyun’s frozen flowers. But in the back instead of just the wall of windows there, there is also a door added in, leading out to the garden.

“Ah, I see. You’ve made a few changes around here,” Hyungwon says. 

“Well, I was thinking that since the garden is getting fixed up, there should be more than one way to get there from inside. Especially here where you can look out at it,” Kihyun says. 

“Right.” Feeling a bit queasy at the thought of fixing up the garden, Hyungwon squeezes Kihyun’s hand tighter. Kihyun just smiles back at him as he guides him towards the door. 

“And there’s something else,” Kihyun said. 

“Oh?”

Out the door, the winter cold hits them again, and Hyungwon sighs as he hunches his shoulders a bit against it. Kihyun clucks his tongue and pulls him closer, wrapping an arm around him to help. Hyungwon leans against him, eyes focused on the snow on the ground until suddenly the snow ends. 

There is a patch of soil left uncovered by snow. A perfect square of fertile unfrozen ground in the middle of the white. Hyungwon looks at Kihyun, questioning. 

“I asked Jooheon to make just...a little space where it would always be spring. Like the Spring Palace’s gardens, but just this square,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon blinks and looks back down at the space, feeling queasy again. 

“I wanted you to always have something here. And I know you’re helping with the gardens and fixing them up and adding things, but I just...wanted something that would always be yours. Something always spring.”

“Kihyun…”

“I thought it would be nice to have a little flower patch where they weren’t frozen or gone for part of the year. Do you like it?”

Hyungwon looks at him. It isn’t a lie when he nods. When he pulls him closer. When he hugs him tight and says _ thank you _ . He means it. Kihyun carved out space after space for him in his life, and he never thought twice about it. And Hyungwon can feel his love in every gesture, every smile, every tight embrace.

But he has to hold him close, afraid that his knees will give out from how awful he feels. The weight of not telling him yet. Hyungwon buries his face against Kihyun’s warm neck and shuts his eyes. 

“I love you,” Hyungwon says. 

“I love you too,” Kihyun says, holding him close. 

Hyungwon can give him this. At least for a moment before he tells him. 

“I know just what the first flower should be,” Hyungwon says.

“Oh?” Kihyun asks. 

Hyungwon pulls away and smiles, nodding. He traces his thumb over Kihyun’s lips and beams. 

“A pink tulip,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun laughs a bit, cheeks getting a bit rosy.

“I do love those,” he says. 

Hyungwon kisses him quickly before kneeling down in the snow next to the patch. He reaches out into the middle of it and takes a deep breath, already feeling his fingers tingling. 

He wanted a good flower. A beautiful one. One that looked strong enough to make winter yield. 

With an image in mind, he used every bit of magic he could muster to make a tulip spring out of the ground, pink and perfect and blossoming. 

But Hyungwon doesn’t see it. He gestures up and loses himself, his arms tingling so much they go numb. He groans, trying to fight it, pulling more because he knows he needs to. 

“Hyungwon—”

Hyungwon strains against himself until suddenly something stops. Everything is cut off. He doesn’t see. He doesn’t hear. He doesn’t feel anything except a rushing sense of how cold he is. And then he feels nothing at all. 

In that place between awake and asleep, Hyungwon feels Kihyun holding his hand in both of his. Happy, he tightens his grip a bit, wanting to pull him closer, feel him closer, maybe steal a kiss before having to open his eyes. 

“Hyungwon?” Kihyun asks, and his voice sounds heavy. Worried. 

“Is he waking up?” Jooheon asks. 

Hyungwon frowns and opens his eyes slowly. It’s dark in the room they’re in, save for a few candles nearby and the fireplace roaring on the nearest wall. He sees Kihyun first, staring at him with wide eyes, noticing the tear-streaks on his cheeks, and Hyungwon doesn’t understand. Then he looks around and realizes he doesn’t recognize the room they’re in. His eyes keep searching until they land on Jooheon biting his thumbnail a few feet away from the bed Hyungwon is laying on. 

“Where—” Hyungwon tries.

“We’re in the Spring Palace. One of the guest bedrooms,” Kihyun says. He sighs and squeezes Hyungwon’s hand before bringing it up to his lips.

“Why? Weren’t we just—”

“Hyungwon…” Jooheon calls. 

Hyungwon turns to look at him again, and Jooheon shifts his weight back and forth on his feet like he wishes he could take off running but can’t.

“What?” Hyungwon asks. 

“You...you fainted, Hyungwon. While you were using magic to make a flower in Kihyun’s garden, you fainted,” Jooheon says. 

Hyungwon suddenly feels as sick as they’re treating him. He turns to look at Kihyun, but he isn’t looking at him anymore. He’s staring down at his hand. 

“Y-you didn’t have to bring me all the way here because I fainted for a few seconds. I’m fine,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun shuts his eyes. 

“You wouldn’t wake up, Hyungwon,” he says softly. 

Hyungwon blinks, confused, and turns back to Jooheon seeking answers. Jooheon sighs and steps closer. 

“You’ve been out for a few hours, Hyungwon. Kihyun brought you here because he didn’t know where else to go. And I...I did my best to keep your energy up, but it seems your body needed the rest.”

Hyungwon shakes his head, slowly at first, then quicker as he turns back to Kihyun. This isn’t what he wanted. This isn’t how he wanted Kihyun to find out. 

“I just don’t understand what happened. One second you were fine, and the next you were on the ground, and...I was terrified, Hyungwon. I knew a witch’s magic got weaker in the other seasons, but I didn’t know it was that much. And it had been hours since you had eaten probably since we were supposed to have lunch, I should have just waited, but…” Kihyun sighs and closes his eyes, his thumb rubbing against the back of Hyungwon’s hand. “I was just so excited. I should have just waited.”

Hyungwon wishes he could disappear then. 

“Kihyun, that’s not...what happened,” Hyungwon says softly. 

Kihyun looks up at him, mouth opening to dispute him, but he must see something in Hyungwon’s face that makes him clamp his mouth shut again. 

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Jooheon says quickly. Hyungwon doesn’t look at him. He just stares at Kihyun, watching how his eyes search all over his face. He hears the door open and shut, and then he knows that they’re alone. He pushes himself up to sit, and Kihyun tries to stop him, but Hyungwon is stubborn. He sits up and looks right at Kihyun, moving to hold both of his hands. 

“I...I’ve been meaning to talk to you. I was going to sit you down today, but I guess...I wanted to see you happy. And I guess that was selfish of me, and I’m sorry, but I just love that smile of yours so much,” Hyungown says.

Kihyun doesn’t speak. He just stares at him. Listens. He squeezes Hyungwon’s hands, probably to reassure him, and Hyungwon aches. 

“First, I want you to know that I love you so much, and nothing will ever change that,” Hyungwon says. 

That seems to change something in Kihyun. His brow furrows, and he pulls Hyungwon’s hands closer. 

“I love you too,” he says. 

Hyungwon’s throat goes dry, but his mouth fills up. He swallows and looks down, hands trembling. 

“Hyungwon, what is it? You’re scaring me,” Kihyun says softly. There’s even a hint of a laugh in his voice, begging to make the situation lighter. 

Hyungwon shakes more, but he sucks in a breath and looks up at him. 

“Ever since spring ended..my magic isn’t what it usually is. It’s the weakest it’s ever been after spring. And at first I thought it was just in my head, but...everything is so  _ difficult _ ,” Hyungwon whispers out, voice tight with all the tears he is trying to keep inside. 

Kihyun blinks at him as the words sink in. And then a frown grows on his face. 

“ _ This _ year. This year is harder on just you. The year we met and decided to be together,” Kihyun says, and his voice is so flat and devoid of emotion that it scares Hyungwon. 

“Kihyun—”

Kihyun slips his hands out of Hyungwon’s grasp and holds them against himself. Hyungwon shakes his head as he sees Kihyun start to tear up.

“I did this to you,” Kihyun whispers out, his eyes running wild all over him. He must look so frail in his eyes then, hunched over in bed after collapsing. 

“No, Kihyun, please—”

“I did. How could I have been so foolish? I...I ruin everything I touch.”

Hyungwon shakes his head and reaches out to him again, the world swimming. 

“No! You didn’t ruin anything. You love me, and I love you back, and it isn’t your fault.” 

Kihyun pulls away from him like he’s terrified.

“Don’t. Don’t reach for me, I don’t want to hurt you,” he says.

“Kihyun, you didn’t hurt me—”

“I make your magic weaker. So weak that one flower took everything you had.”

“So I stop making flowers outside of spring! I didn’t use magic often outside of spring, it isn’t hard for me to cut back—”

He stops himself when he sees the horrified look on Kihyun’s face. Eyes wide and tears falling down his face. 

“I won’t have you give up your magic for me. Your magic is beautiful. It’s everything. You love your magic so much, and now you’re telling me it doesn’t matter?”

Hyungwon’s shoulders shake. 

“Please just come here,” he begs. 

Kihyun shakes his head. 

“I can’t.” 

Kihyun’s voice finally breaks on that syllable. He sobs and shuts his eyes, still holding his hands against himself like he’s terrified to move. Hyungwon’s heart shatters to pieces as he kicks the blankets off of him and gets up. Kihyun shakes his head, moving back a bit in his chair, but Hyungwon wraps his arms around him and holds him tight until Kihyun sags and buries his face in his shoulder. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Kihyun whispers out. 

“Stop. It’s not your fault,” Hyungwon says. 

“We can’t...we can’t be together anymore can we?” Kihyun whispers. 

Hyungwon grips him tighter. “Don’t say that.”

“I hate this. I love you so much and even that couldn’t stop it.”

Hyungwon sniffs and pulls away. He takes Kihyun’s hands in his and pulls them up to his mouth to kiss them. Kihyun tries to pull them away, shaking his head, but Hyungwon just holds them tighter. Kisses the tips of his fingers and his knuckles and his palms until Kihyun goes still. 

“Your hands have never harmed me,” Hyungwon whispers.

Kihyun scoffs, eyes puffy and red, but he doesn’t try to pull away anymore. 

“Don’t lie to me like that,” Kihyun says. 

“It isn’t a lie. These hands have immortalized hundreds of my flowers. They’ve held me on my happiest days. They’ve shown me a love I never thought I would have.”

Kihyun sucks in a breath and goes still. 

“I’m blessed with every single touch. How could they have ruined me?” Hyungwon says. He holds Kihyun’s hands against his face, and they’re warm and familiar, and Hyungwon smiles because of that. 

“Winter freezes everything it touches,” Kihyun says weakly. 

“I’d rather freeze than never have you touch me again. And I’m not frozen. I’m here. I’m yours.”

Kihyun traces his thumb over Hyungwon’s cheek, and the pain in his eyes is palpable. Hyungwon feels the same pain buried deep inside him.

“What are we going to do?” Kihyun asks.

Hyungwon kisses his palm again and squeezes around his wrist. 

“Jooheon thinks that when spring comes, none of this will matter anyway. It might just happen in the other seasons. And I haven’t lost all my magic. I’ll never lose all my magic.”

“So what? Nothing changes? I just have to live knowing that every day we are together is a day where I am making you weaker? Causing you harm?”

Hyungwon looks at him.

“I want us to love each other. It’s the easiest thing in the world.”

Kihyun shuts his eyes. Hyungwon feels his throat get tighter. 

“I love you, Kihyun. I love you. I love you, and winter, and everything that comes with it. Needing a bit of help to do magic is nothing compared to the idea of losing you.”

Kihyun sighs and pulls Hyungwon closer and kisses him, and Hyungwon kisses him back. It’s wet and salty and warm, and Hyungwon wraps his arms around his shoulders, and he loves him so much he aches and feels pleasantly numb at the same time. Aches because Kihyun is still crying. Is pleasantly numb because his kisses are still lovely, making Hyungwon want to forget everything else. 

Hyungwon pulls away, gasping for a breath, and Kihyun pants as he stares up at him. 

“I love you, Hyungwon. So much,” he says. 

Hyungwon smiles a bit, wiping Kihyun’s face clean. Kihyun closes his eyes. 

“I love you too much to do this to you,” Kihyun croaks out. 

Hyungwon has never felt colder than when those words sink into him. 

“No, Kihyun, please—”

“I’m sorry. You have no idea how sorry I am. I want to be with you so badly.”

“Then be with me! I’m fine, Kihyun, please. Please don’t do this.”

Kihyun’s lips tremble, and Hyungwon leans in and kisses them as softly as he can. 

Kihyun doesn’t speak again for the rest of the day. He just holds Hyungwon in his lap and lets him press gentle kisses all over his face. He doesn’t say anything when Jooheon comes in later to check on them. He doesn’t say anything when they walk back to Hyungwon’s cottage in the evening, holding hands. He doesn’t say anything when Hyungwon asks if he wants to spend the night, just shakes his head a bit.

He doesn’t speak when he kisses Hyungwon softly on the cheek and squeezes his hands tight before he walks away, walking back towards the Winter Palace. 

And Hyungwon hugs his coat tighter around him and just watches him walk away, praying to the wind that he’ll turn around and look at him. See him. Give him a smile. Something. Anything. 

But he doesn’t. He turns the corner and disappears, and Hyungwon closes his eyes and leans back against the door, praying to the wind again that this wasn’t the last time they’ll see each other. 

He goes inside and falls into bed. He doesn’t have any tears left as he buries himself in his pillows. 

Hyungwon is making himself tea the next day when there’s a knock at the door. 

“Who is it?” he calls, not really in the mood for company. 

“It’s...it’s me.”

Hyungwon practically trips over himself as he runs over to the door and yanks it open to find Kihyun standing there. His whole face is swollen and pink, and Hyungwon frowns. 

“Come in. I’m making tea,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun nods and steps inside, and Hyungwon shuts the door, shivering in a delayed reaction to the cold. 

“You said Jooheon thought your magic would go back to normal when spring came,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon turns around and looks at him. 

“Yes. That’s what he said. I even went to ask Hakyeon, and he thinks it’s true too,” he says. 

Kihyun nods. 

“I still feel...strange about this. Guilty,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon shakes his head, wanting to reach out for him, but stopping himself. Afraid that it would be too much. 

“I understand, but I don’t want you to feel that way. It’s not like I don’t have magic. Or like I’ll never see a flower again. Or something,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun sighs and rubs his eyes. He looks exhausted. Haunted. 

“When spring comes,” Kihyun starts, but then he stops, biting his lip. 

“When spring comes?” Hyungwon asks. 

Kihyun looks at him and hugs himself. 

“If you don’t feel like you always do when spring comes, you have to tell me,” Kihyun says. 

Hyungwon stares at him. 

“I will,” he says carefully. 

Kihyun nods. 

“I don’t want to lose you. I want to be with you. But if I need to distance myself from you to make sure you’re okay, I will,” Kihyun says, enunciating every word. 

Hyungwon blinks. 

“What...what does that mean?” he asks. 

Kihyun closes his eyes and shakes his head. “I don’t know. I don’t know anything. I don’t know how to fix this, but I’m selfish and awful and all I want is you.”

Hyungwon’s shoulders sag before he steps closer and hugs Kihyun. Kihyun hugs him back, breathing deep. 

“I love you. We’ll figure it out. We’ll just take one day at a time,” Hyungwon says. 

Kihyun nods and looks up at him, reaching up to comb his fingers through his hair. 

“I love you too,” he says. 

The tea kettle starts squealing, and Hyungwon groans, not wanting to let go of him, but Kihyun kisses him and goes to sit at the table, and that soothes something in Hyungwon. He walks over to the tea kettle and takes it off the stove, going through the motions of serving two cups of tea. 

Hyungwon sits at the table next to Kihyun, and Kihyun gives him a small smile before he takes his own cup and drinks from it. Hyungwon smiles back. 

They spend the entire day together, quiet, but together. They hold each other in front of the fire and eat bread with cherry jam and sip at their tea. They exchange little looks and smile before one of them leans in and kisses the other. 

And Hyungwon thinks of Hakyeon’s advice. Of doing whatever makes him happiest. And when Kihyun holds his face and presses kisses all over his lips, even in the quiet, he can’t help but think that this is it. 

They spend the rest of winter together, focusing on each other and the kisses and the laughter. They watch the snows start to melt and feel the air get just a bit warmer. 

The night before spring starts, Kihyun stays with him in his cottage despite his hesitation. 

Neither of them mention their worry. 

Hyungwon just holds onto Kihyun and the hope that when spring comes, everything will go back to normal. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!!!!


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